Marques reverse-importing cars

Nissan will ship its US-made Murano crossover to Japan, joining Honda and probably Toyota in reverse-importing vehicles with steering wheels on the wrong side for the domestic market.

Going on sale in the States in early 2027, the midsize Murano, pictured, is built in Smyrna, Tennessee. It will be the first American-made Nissan sold in Japan since the 1990s.

Nissan is following Toyota and Honda in leveraging a recent loosening of Japanese certification rules to enable the flow of US imports.

The new rules essentially allow vehicles that pass US safety inspections to be shipped “as is” and without extra testing. For the new batch of imports that means keeping the steering wheel on the left side and not on the right as is the norm in Japan.

Japan’s transportation ministry overhauled the rules last month as a gesture towards addressing the trade imbalance with America.

Toyota said in December it planned to start selling US-made Camrys, Highlanders and Tundras in Japan in 2026.

This month, Honda said it will begin exporting models made in America – the Acura Integra Type S and Honda Passport TrailSport Elite – to its home market for the first time in nearly four decades. Those shipments will start in the second half of this year.

Like the Murano, Honda’s incoming models will retain US specifications, including left-hand-drive configuration. Toyota is also expected to keep left-hand layout although a spokesman says it is still finalising sales plans, including launch timing and vehicle details.