Nissan has joined the ranks of Toyota and Honda in reversing the process and importing American-made cars back to Japan.

2026-04-13

Nissan will produce Murano in the US and import it back to Japan. The three major Japanese automakers are following suit and making such arrangements.

This move is made possible by Japan's recently relaxed vehicle certification regulations, which allow vehicles that have passed U.S. safety inspections to be directly exported to Japan without additional testing. This means the Murano will retain the U.S.-spec left-hand drive configuration, rather than the right-hand drive design commonly used in Japan. It is reported that Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism revised the regulations last month to ease the U.S.-Japan trade imbalance, a key adjustment following the breakthrough U.S.-Japan tariff agreement reached last summer and U.S. President Trump's visit to Japan last autumn.

Nissan is not the only Japanese automaker making such a move; Toyota and Honda have taken the lead. Toyota announced in December last year that it plans to sell U.S.-made Camry sedans, Highlander crossovers and Tundra pickup trucks in Japan this year. It has currently launched sales in the Tokyo area through a new sales system, with nationwide sales expected to start in the summer. Honda announced this month that it will export two U.S.-made models to Japan for the first time in nearly 40 years, starting in the second half of 2026, and both models will also retain the left-hand drive configuration.

However, the left-hand drive configuration is likely to relegate these models to niche, low-sales products. "Who on earth will buy these cars? Cars in Japan have steering wheels on the right. I don't think they put any thought into this," said Christopher Richter, head of Asian automotive research at CLSA in Tokyo. "They may want to prove that U.S.-spec cars won't sell in Japan, no matter which automaker produces them." Data from the Japan Automobile Importers Association shows that U.S. car sales in Japan exceeded only 12,000 units in fiscal 2024, with limited market space.

Behind Nissan's move is the dual need to absorb idle capacity at its U.S. factories and boost domestic sales. It is reported that Nissan redesigned the Murano last year, and its U.S. sales reached 42,747 units in 2025. However, to clear inventory, Nissan's average promotional subsidy per vehicle in January and February this year exceeded $6,000, far higher than the industry average of $3,302. Currently, Japanese automakers such as Nissan and Honda are competing for a larger domestic market share by enriching their product lines to cope with the impact of U.S. tariffs and trade volatility.

人気商品

右手駆動車

トヨタ

ホンダ

ニッサン

マツダ

三?? 市

スズキ

イスズウ

レクサス

人気商品

右手駆動車

トヨタ

ホンダ

ニッサン

マツダ

三?? 市

スズキ

イスズウ

レクサス

Nissan has joined the ranks of Toyota and Honda in reversing the process and importing American-made cars back to Japan.

Nissan has joined the ranks of Toyota and Honda in reversing the process and importing American-made cars back to Japan.