Nissan sees North America leading global sales surge after profits rise 52%

TOKYO – Nissan Motor Co. is banking on North America to lead a global sales surge this fiscal year, as production comes back online and key models capture more revenue per vehicle.

Nissan on Thursday said it expects retail deliveries in North America to soar 29 percent to 1.32 million vehicles in the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2024. The market will anchor what Nissan predicts will be a 21 percent expansion in global sales to 4 million vehicles.

Europe will contribute a 27 percent sales increase, but from a smaller base. Nissan's sales there are predicted to grow to 390,000 in the current fiscal year, from 308,000 the previous one.

CEO Makoto Uchida outlined the forecasts as Nissan reported a 52 percent increase in operating profit in the just-ended fiscal year, despite a 15 percent drop in worldwide sales.

Nissan is confident that growth will be rekindled as semiconductor supply returns to normal.

"Gradual recovery will take place, then quality of sales and productivity will bear fruit," Uchida said. "We will be able to manufacture, and that will serve as the backdrop for increased sales."

With chip supply ramping up, Nissan predicts global production should cruise ahead 21 percent to 4.1 million vehicles in the current fiscal year. It stagnated at 3.38 million the previous fiscal year.

If the North America sales target is achieved, that market would exceed China as Nissan's biggest and post its healthiest result since the pandemic and global semiconductor shortage.

"We see opportunities in the U.S.," Uchida said.

Nissan is off to a good start. Nissan Group's U.S. deliveries rose 17 percent to 235,818 vehicles in the January-March quarter, ending a streak of six consecutive quarterly declines.

But even so, the 1.32 million outlook falls short of the 1.62 million sold in North America in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2020. And it remains far below the 2 million-plus vehicles that were achieved during the era of former CEO Carlos Ghosn before his arrest in November 2018.

North American sales fell 14 percent to 1.02 million vehicles in the fiscal year ended March 31, while Europe, excluding the Russian market Nissan withdrew from, rose 5.5 percent to 305,000.

Nissan's business in North America is also getting a boost from improved revenue per vehicle.

Revenues per vehicle have expanded 20 percent for the Rogue crossover and 21 percent for the Altima sedan, for example, over the past three fiscal years, Nissan said. The Pathfinder SUV was up 48 percent, and the Frontier pickup saw revenue per vehicle climb 36 percent.

All four nameplates saw their segment share increase over the period, COO Ashwani Gupta said.

Overall, that better mix of more profitable models teamed with foreign exchange rate gains to drive profits higher in the just-ended fiscal year, despite production woes and soaring costs.

Operating profit rose to 377.1 billion yen ($2.84 billion) in the fiscal year, from 247.3 billion yen ($1.87 billion) the year before. Operating profit margin improved to 3.6 percent, from 2.9 percent.

Net income advanced 3 percent to 221.9 billion yen ($1.67 billion).

Global sales fell 15 percent to 3.31 million vehicles in the fiscal year.