Nissan Motor Co. said on Jan. 15 it will further reduce its domestic production by 64,000 vehicles through February and March amid reports that it is set to post a loss this year. Japan's third largest carmaker has now slashed its planned production in the current financial year to March by 289,000 vehicles, or about 21%, from an original target of 1.388 million.
Nissan, which is controlled by France's Renault, said it would halt production at three assembly plants for up to 13 days in February, followed by further stoppages in March. "This further reduction is necessary to manage our inventory levels and ensure a balanced production supply, in response to continued declines in the global vehicle sales," a company statement said.
Nissan in October lowered its forecast for operating profit for the year to March 2009 to 270 billion yen (three billion dollars) from a previous projection of 550 billion yen.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009
