Nissan has lowered its global vehicle sales forecast and plans to reduce petrol-car production in China as it struggles with competition and a faster-than-expected shift to electric and hybrid vehicles.
The Japanese carmaker now expects to sell between 2.97 million and 3 million vehicles in the year through March, down from its earlier estimate of 3.15 million, Nippon.com reported. Nissan maintained its forecast of a 20 billion yen net profit for the year.
In China, Nissan plans to increase production of battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles while cutting back petrol-car manufacturing, according to The Guardian. Chief executive Ivan Espinosa said demand was weaker, competition was intensifying and the shift to new-energy vehicles was happening faster than expected.
Nissan reported a consolidated net loss of 39.7 billion yen for April to September, narrower than the 221.9 billion yen loss recorded a year earlier. It posted an operating profit of 80 billion yen for the half-year, compared with an operating loss a year before.
