DETROIT -- Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. said on Thursday it sold over 1 million cars and trucks in the United States in a 12-month period, joining five other automakers that have hit that mark.
"I think that it's a milestone," Jed Connelly, senior vice president of sales at Nissan North America, told Reuters. "There is tremendous excitement inside with the company ... it's a real emotional boost for employees.
The Japanese automaker, which expects best-ever monthly U.S. sales of over 100,000 vehicles in March, sold a million units for the first time in its 47-year history. The sales, from April 1 through the end of March, include Infiniti vehicles.
Nissan's Altima sedan and Titan pickup truck were the main drivers of sales volume, Connelly said.
The other five automakers who have sold a million vehicles in a 12-month period are General Motors, Ford Motor Co., DaimlerChrysler AG, Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. Ltd.
Nissan's share of the U.S. market has grown steadily over the last few years, mainly stealing sales from GM and Ford. But despite rapid growth, Nissan's sales volume was lower than domestic competitors Toyota and Honda.
In 2004, Nissan sales rose 24 percent to 985,988 vehicles. In the same period, industry leader GM sold over 4.6 million vehicles, while Nissan's nearest competitor Honda sold over 1.3 million vehicles.
Connelly said Nissan aims to increase U.S. sales by 5 percent to 10 percent in 2005.
