Production of the 2015 Nissan Murano sport-utility vehicle commenced today in Canton, Miss., where local officials were on hand to give their blessing to the newest vehicle to be produced at the factory.

With the introduction of the 2015 model, global Murano production will move exclusively to Canton, from where it is currently built in Kyushu, Japan. ​The addition of the Murano line to the Canton plant requires 1300 manufacturing jobs, including 400 on-site supplier jobs. Five hundred jobs will specifically be added in Canton to make the Murano possible.

According to senior vice president of manufacturing, supply chain management and purchasing for Nissan North America John Martin, the facility in Canton will have the capability to produce up to 507,000 vehicles by 2017—making it the second-largest Nissan plant in the United States, behind Smyrna, Tenn.

At launch, the exclusive Murano trim line will be expected to produce up to 19 vehicles per hour. The Canton facility runs three eight-hour shifts, and has an estimated yearly capacity of 480,000 vehicles. It was Nissan's first major infrastructure investment in Mississippi when it opened in 2003, and production of 306,000 vehicles is estimated for calendar year 2014.

Earlier, Nissan announced a commitment that 85 percent of its vehicles sold in the United States will also be made in this country. The Murano "makes true that promise," Martin said.

Joining the launch in Canton was Mississippi governor Phil Bryant, who thanked Nissan for having "confidence in Mississippi."

"Prior to 11 years ago, we had never made an automobile in Mississippi," Gov. Bryant said. "That was as foreign to us as having the number-one football team in the nation."

The next-generation Murano, which was revealed at the 2014 New York International Auto Show, is scheduled to go on sale in December in the United States, and will be exported to up to 100 markets. It replaces the current-generation Murano, which has been on sale since 2009.

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