WINDSOR, Ont. -- After a three-year absence, Nissan Motor Co. will return to the Detroit auto show in 2012.

“The amount of new product serves as the direction for the world’s economic future. This, in addition to the unique audiences this show gathers, makes Nissan proud to say it will be returning to NAIAS as an exhibitor in 2012,” Carlos Tavares, Nissan Americas chairman, said in a statement released Sunday by the Detroit Auto Dealers Association. “It is an excellent forum for us to place a spotlight on products that will be carrying us all into the future.”

Nissan, the fifth-largest automaker in the U.S., announced in November 2008 it was pulling out of the Detroit show as the North American economy fell into the worst recession since the Great Depression. Other automakers, including Porsche, Mitsubishi and Suzuki, also withdrew from the show, although Porsche is returning this year for the first time since 2007.

The 2011 North American International Auto Show in Detroit kicks off with press preview days Monday and Tuesday, and will open its doors to the public Jan. 15-23.