Nissan unveils March, predicts records


Ghosn (R) predicts record net and operating profit for Nissan this year and earlier this month inked a deal to link with NTT DoCoMo

By Alex Frew McMillan
CNN Hong Kong

TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- CEO Carlos Ghosn gave an upbeat take on Nissan Motor Co.'s prospects on Tuesday.

He again said that the year through March would see Nissan post a record profit.

The man known as "Le Cost Cutter" also unveiled Nissan's first joint venture car with Renault, the remodeled March.

The compact car's curved lines resemble the remodeled Volkswagen Beetle. It's also the first product of a three-year partnership between the two companies.

The March, which will be called the Micra in Europe, goes on sale in Japan on March 5. It's the smallest Nissan available, and the third generation of a car first sold in 1982.

It comes in 12 colors, including five snazzy new ones such as "Paprika Orange," "Aqua Blue" and "Beans."

The Nissan car, undraped Tuesday at its Tokyo headquarters, shares the basics of a Renault -- the same "platform."

Nissan plans to roll out other cars such as the Cube (due next business year) on the same platform as Renaults. They will have the same underbody and area surrounding the engine.

Renault is building the Clio that will have the same basics as the March, but with a different engine and look.

Leading the profit push

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The companies are leading the push to curb the expense of making cars by sharing technology and simplifying production.

Ghosn has led the charge to revamp Nissan and is trying to take it back to the No. 2 spot in the Japanese market. He joined the Japanese carmaker from Renault after it bought 37 percent of Nissan in March 1999.

In a symbiotic arrangement, Nissan expects to boost its ownership of Renault to 15 percent later this year.

Ghosn said on Tuesday that his company is focusing on boosting its profitability rather than claiming market share. He started a three-year overhaul of Nissan in October 1999, leading an impressive rebound to profitability.

He told reporters that the March car will have margins that are "at least 20 percent higher" than other cars. The company expects to sell around 8,000 per month.

Records


Nissan is part-way through its three-year revamp plan and has already rebounded impressively into the black

But Ghosn noted that its share of the Japanese market stands at an estimated 19 percent in February, according to Dow Jones news agency.

Reuters notes that Ghosn clarified this will be a record year for Nissan's net, recurring and operating profits. The company forecast in October that it would earn a full-year operating profit of 350 billion yen ($2.61 billion).

This was the first time Ghosn had been so specific about what records Nissan would set, though he did not give a new forecast.

Nissan stock closed up 1.75 percent at 816 yen on Tuesday, a strong performance on a good day for many big exporters like Japan's car companies.

Rival Honda rose 0.6 percent and Mazda climbed 0.3 percent, though market leader Toyota Motor bucked the trend with a 2.6 percent decline.

Sentiment in general was poor, amid pessimism about the government's attempts to work the economy out of trouble. The Nikkei dropped 0.91 percent to 10,202.63.