TOKYO (Feb. 27, 2007)--Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., today announced production, sales and export results for January.
1.Production
Nissan’s global production in January increased 6.9% to 277,789 units, rising year-on-year for the third straight month.
In Japan, new products such as the Infiniti G35 sedan (new Skyline in Japan) and the new commercial vehicles AD and AD Expert as well as Serena minivan were positive contributors. However, overall domestic production dropped 6.8% from the year prior to 91,783 units, resulting from the reduced output of other models.
Overseas production rose 15.2% to 186,006 units, increasing year-on-year for the first time in two months. In the US, production increased for models such as the new Altima sedan, but due to the reduced output of other models, overall production amounted to 60,535 units, down 8.8% compared to the previous year. Production in Mexico rose 48.0% to 47,951 units following the introduction of the new Sentra sedan, Versa hatchback and Versa sedan (Tiida in Japan).
In the UK, production climbed 8.1% to 25,245 units due to the start of production of the new Qashqai. Production in Spain increased 22.5% to 18,217 units, amid increased output of the Navara and Primastar commercial vehicles. In other regions, production grew 39.3% to 34,058 units, up for the first time in eight months, mainly due to the start of sales of the new Frontier Navara pickup truck in Thailand and the Livina Geniss minivan and Tiida in China.
2.Sales
In Japan, Nissan’s registrations in January dropped 22.6% to 40,436 units, declining year-on-year for the 16th consecutive month. The new Skyline launched in November and the new commercial vehicles AD and AD Expert led to increased sales, but failed to offset declining sales of other models.
Including mini-vehicles, Nissan sold 52,736 units in Japan, down 13.4%. Sales of Nissan’s mini-vehicles, including the new Pino launched this month, saw improvement. However, declines in other segments impacted total registrations. The company’s share of the domestic market dropped 2.8 percentage points year-on-year to 17.3%, while its corresponding market share including mini vehicles was down 1.2 percentage points to 14.2%.
Nissan sales in the US grew 8.9% to 82,644 units, marking a year-on-year increase for the second straight month, contributed by the introduction of the new Altima, new Versa, and the new Infiniti G35.
In Europe, Nissan posted improved results in Russia and other countries, whilst overall sales totaled 29,406 units, down 6.7% year-on-year.
3.Japan Exports
Nissan’s exports in January fell 15.1% to 43,357 units compared to the same month in the year prior.
Exports to North America fell 9.3% year-on-year to 22,064 units.
Exports to Europe totaled 2,497 units, down 59.5%.
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