Nissan drives profits to new high

Nissan this week unveiled record profits as the Japanese car group made hay in the US at the expense of America’s domestic automotive giants.

Nissan’s operating profit for the year ending March came in at a best-ever $8bn (£4.2bn), more than four per cent ahead of its 2003 figure, following record sales of almost 3.4 million vehicles.

The Japanese group’s most significant headway came in the US, where it sold more than one million vehicles for the first time, an increase of 18 per cent.

The success of Nissan in the US goes some way to explaining the problems facing General Motors and Ford, both of which — particularly GM — released disappointing financial figures over the past few weeks. Fellow Japanese car companies Toyota and Honda are also picking up sales in North America, where consumers seem ever more willing to shed their loyalties to domestic brands in favour of smaller, more economical models from overseas.