For immediate release

22 March 2001

Nissan Results for February 2001

Tokyo – Nissan Motor Company announced today production and sales figures for February, 2001.  The company reported relatively stable global production with a 0.2% decline.  Total unit sales in the three main regions of Japan, North America and Europe experienced a slight decline of 2.1%.

1. Production

Nissan's global production in February was down a slight 0.2% from a year ago to 219,025 units, the first year-on-year decrease in 13 months.

Nissan's domestic production in February was 119,450 units, down 2.6% from a year ago.  This decrease was due to reduced exports to Europe and North America, despite the strong demand for the new models launched this fiscal year in the domestic market.

Nissan's overseas production in February was 99,575 units, up 2.8% from February 2000, marking the 19th consecutive year-on-year increase.

Production in the U.S. declined 29.9%, as total market sales remained sluggish and the company worked to reduce inventory levels.  In Mexico, production jumped 27.4% with strong sales of Tsuru.  Production rose 6.8% in UK to meet the demand for Almera, which has been fully rolled out since start of production in January of 2000.  In Spain, production increased by 50.5% from the previous year, supported by additional production of the Almera Tino, which began in May of 2000.

Nissan results for February 2001…2

2. Sales

Nissan's domestic sales in February were 74,716 units, up 2.1%, marking the third consecutive year-on-year increase.  Sales continued to be strong in February for new models including the Primera, Cima, X‑TRAIL and Bluebird Sylphy.  The first full month of Primera sales was strong with 5,402 units registered.  The sales of commercial vehicles continue to increase since the introduction of the X‑TRAIL, which is classified as a commercial vehicle.  Nissan's domestic market share in February was 20.1%, down 0.1 points from last year.

Nissan's sales in the U.S. (not DSR adjusted) declined by 9.9% from the previous year.  New Sentra and Pathfinder were up from the last year, however, the rest of the lineup was hampered by the slowing total market.  Nissan's sales in Canada rose 10.4% with strong sales of the new Sentra, and sales in Mexico jumped by 12.9% as the Mexican market continues to rebound.

Nissan's sales in Europe declined 4.2% from February 2000 with a slower overall market compared to last year.  However, sales were strong for Almera, particularly in Spain and Italy, and Almera Tino has been positively received in European market.

3. Export

Nissan's exports in February decreased 16.6% to 43,012 units, representing the sixth consecutive year-on-year decrease.  This decrease is the result of the company's continued efforts to localise production (for example the Almera for the European market, which was switched from exports from Japan to local production in the UK in early 2000), as well as the slowing U.S. market.

ends…

For further information contact:

David Swerdlow              Tel: 01923 899935

Email:                                            David.Swerdlow@nissan.co.uk

28331a/220301