Nissan Plans to Develop Diesel Vehicles for the U.S. Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Nissan Motor Co., Japan's second- biggest automaker, said it may put diesel engines in U.S. pickup trucks and sport-utilities in a move to cut emissions for the most popular class of vehicles in North America. ``You'll probably see large diesel pickups and SUVs,'' Nissan's Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn told reporters at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo today. ``We are preparing it.'' Sales of Nissan's gasoline-powered Titan pickup truck rose 10 percent to 73,708 units in the first 10 months of 2005 in North America. The Tokyo-based company is following General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler unit in powering fuel-guzzling trucks with diesel, which emits less carbon dioxide than gasoline. Nissan's move to diesel may be the result of a closer cooperation with its 44 percent shareholder Renault SA, of which Ghosn is also chief executive. Renault, the second-largest carmaker of France, uses diesel-powered engines in Europe, where half of all cars sold burn the fuel. Renault and Nissan are also cooperating through Renault Samsung Motor Co., which will make SM3 cars under the Nissan brand to sell in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. ``Ghosn knows what he's doing and he's able to foresee the short- and long-term strategies,'' said Graeme Maxton, a director of the Economist Intelligence Unit in Hong Kong. Demand for Pickups About 2 million pickup trucks are sold in the U.S. every year, Ghosn said, adding that higher gasoline prices are keeping customers from larger vehicles. According to AAA's fuel-price Web site, U.S. average retail gasoline prices reached a record $3.06 a gallon in September and were $2.18 as of Nov. 24, 12 percent higher than a year ago. Nissan shares fell 0.5 percent to 1,251 yen in Tokyo. Nissan and other Japanese automakers rely on the U.S., the world's biggest auto market, for as much as 74 percent of their operating profits. U.S. vehicle sales fell 14 percent in October to 1.15 million units, the lowest monthly performance since 1998. Nissan's U.S. sales fell 16.5 percent in October, its first monthly decline in more than a year ``as Nissan has been growing very fast in the past few years in the U.S.,'' Ghosn said. Nissan sold 3.67 million vehicles in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 41 percent more than in 2002, exceeding Ghosn's target of increasing annual sales by 1 million units in three years. ``The sales force delivered the highest number of sales in September, so October went down as a correction,'' Ghosn said. ``The effect will be for the short term and the effect will disappear after November.'' U.S. Market As many as 16.9 million vehicles may be sold in the U.S. this year, according to Nissan's forecast, close to estimates by Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. Ghosn said on Oct. 28 that the automaker will keep its outlook for the total demand in the U.S. at 16.9 million units for 2006. Surging gasoline prices caused by disruptions to oil refining following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita may damp demand in the second half of Nissan's fiscal year, which starts in October, Ghosn has said. Nissan's U.S. sales rose 12 percent to 908,205 units in the ten months through October, as more customers bought Altima sedans, Murano sports-utility vehicles and Infiniti M sedans, according to Autodata Corp.'s sales figures. To contact the reporter on this story: Kae Inoue in Tokyo at kinoue@bloomberg.net Last Updated: November 25, 2005 10:19 EST Web source: http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000080&sid=aoYXPa_CcVUk
