Nissan production, sales and export results for January 2003

Tokyo -- Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., today announced production, sales and export figures for January.

Nissan's domestic production, overseas production, domestic sales and exports all rose over the same month last year, marking the first time in four months, since September 2002, that these four indexes have simultaneously registered year-on-year growth.

Production

Nissan's global production in January posted the eleventh straight month of year-on-year expansion, rising 11.1% over the same month a year ago to total 228,059 units.

Domestic production for the month came to 116,069 units, a gain of 21.7% over January 2002 and surpassing the previous year's level for the eleventh consecutive month. That increase was fueled in part by strong domestic sales of the new generations of the March and the Cube. Other large contributors included the new Infiniti FX45/FX35 premium crossover SUVs and the new Murano crossover SUV, all of which are sold in the North American market, the Fairlady Z (350Z in North America) for the Japanese and North American markets and the Infiniti G35 (Skyline in Japan) that is sold in North America. In addition, the newly released Teana in the Japanese market also contributed to the rise in domestic output in January.

Nissan's overseas production in January stood at 111,990 units, up 2% over the same month a year earlier. Production in the U.S. came to 31,630 units, down 15.9% from January 2002 on account of the decline in light truck output. In Mexico, production totaled 28,667 units, off 7% from a year ago mainly because of fewer operating days this year than in January of last year. Production in the U.K. advanced 9.5% over the same month a year earlier, rising to 25,217 units on the back of a strong sales start by the new Micra. Moreover, production in Spain jumped 48.9% over January 2002, increasing to 8,826 units, thanks in large part to the contribution by the new Primastar commercial vehicle.

Sales

Nissan's domestic registrations posted the tenth straight month of year-on-year growth, rising to 52,327 units for a 7.8% increase compared with January 2002. Newly released models continued their strong sales performance, including the new March that has maintained robust sales since it was launched last March, the new Fairlady Z that was rolled out last July and the new-generation Cube that was introduced last October. Nissan's share of the domestic registered vehicle market in January stood at 20.1%, surpassing the 20% level on a monthly basis for the first time in 6 months, since July 2002. It also marked the first time in three years, since January 2000, that Nissan's January market share exceeded 20%.

Including minicars, Nissan's domestic sales in January totaled 54,870 units, an advance of 13% over the same month last year. The new Moco posted sales of 2,536 units. Nissan's domestic market share, including minicars, was 14.4% in January.

In the U.S., January sales came to 55,209 units, up 1.2% over the same month a year earlier. In addition to continued robust sales of previously released new models such as the Infiniti G35, 350Z and others, the smooth sales launch of the new Murano crossover SUV also helped boost sales over last year's level. In Canada, Nissan's sales in January dipped 3.9% from a year earlier to total 3,746 units, and sales in Mexico came to 16,433 units, down 20.9% from January 2002.

In Europe, the Micra, which was released on January 23, enjoyed a remarkable start, receiving 27,000 orders by the end of January, although the results will not appear in the retail sales totals for several weeks.    Overall sales slightly decreased a slight 2% from the same month a year ago to total 35,534 units, in line with the TIV.

Exports from Japan

Nissan's exports in January registered the twelfth straight month of year-on-year growth, soaring a large 25.2% over the same month last year to total 51,190 units. Contributing to that increase were strong shipments to North America of the new Infiniti FX45/FX35 premium crossover SUVs, new Murano crossover SUV, 350Z and the Infiniti G35 as well as exports of the X‑TRAIL to various overseas markets, particularly Europe. In addition, shipments of the Pickup to Europe were also strong, as were shipments of the Sunny/Pulsar to markets in Asia and Oceania.

Global Production by Country

*1 Others include production in Taiwan, Thailand, Philippines, South Africa, Indonesia and China excluding CKD production.

Global Unit Sales by Main Market (Region)

*2 Japan sales are categorized into passenger cars and commercial vehicles based on chassis.
*3 U.S. sales are based on retail including Hawaii.
     DSR (daily selling rate)-adjusted year-on-year change in January is xxx%
     Nissan Division:  47,516 units
     Infiniti Division:  7,693 units
*4 Canada and Mexico sales are based on retail.
*5 North America sales are based on retail including Guam, Saipan and other islands.
*6 Europe sales are based on retail in the whole Europe including Turkey and Israel from the April 2002 results.

Vehicle Exports from Japan

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