China-Japan tension hurts sales, says Nissan
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PARIS -- Europe isn't the only troubled market worrying Nissan.
Andy Palmer, Nissan Motor Co.'s executive vice president, said the company is uncertain of the long-term impact of recent tension between Japan and China over a small group of disputed islands that has forced Nissan and other Japanese automakers to halt Chinese production. Nissan cut production after seeing sales fall.
"In the past couple of weeks, we've seen a reduction in order-taking," Palmer told reporters at the show. "That's a fact."
In response, he says, Nissan shut production for two days in advance of this week, which is a holiday week in China.
"We'll reopen the plants on the eighth of October, and then we'll make a judgment call on whether it's a glitch or whether it's something more emphatic," Palmer said. "We don't know.
"At the moment we're taking off two days, and that's it. Fortunately we have a holiday in China, and hopefully things will calm down."
You can reach Dave Guilford at dguilford@crain.com. -- Follow Dave on 
