Nissan CEO, Carlos Ghosn, has predicted that Japan’s second biggest carmaker will achieve its sales targets, despite the yen’s 9.6% climb over the US dollar in the past year. However Ghosn admitted that the strength of the Yen may cause problems: “The high yen is definitely a headwind. What I worry about is not just Nissan, but Japanese manufacturers losing their motivation to maintain production in Japan”.
Rival Toyota, which occupies the number one spot in sales, has stated that instead of shifting production abroad it will adopt more efficient manufacturing methods at its Japan plants.
Ghosn remains adamant that the 1 million-production target in Japan remains intact, despite the fact that the exchange rate will surely hurt Nissan’s operating profits: “This is a choice Nissan has made, and has maintained through a collaborative effort with our suppliers”.
So far, he is right: Nissan’s May global sales rose by 19.3% to 368,914 units, with a 25.7% increase in overseas markets and a 0.8% rise in Japan. In the same period, Toyota’s global sales decreased by 49.3%, to 287,811 units.
Still, Nissan’s local production is less than 30% while Toyota’s is 43%, with a probable explanation being that the latter’s operations were disrupted more by the March earthquake and Tsunami.
Ghosn’s target for the fiscal year ending March 2012 is an operating income of 460 billion yen, or $5.8 billion, while Toyota’s estimate is 300 billion yen and Honda’s 200 billion. This, according to Bloomberg, will be the first time since 1992 that Nissan will beat its two rivals.
Via Autonews
