Nissan shifting more production to passenger cars

Like the rest of the automotive industry, Nissan will shift more of its North American production to cars with 4-cylinder engines while cutting back on truck production.

"Today, the market wants passenger cars and, even more specific, four-cylinder passenger cars. We cannot build enough of them." Nissan’s CEO Carlos Ghosn told reporters today.

Ghosn said that Nissan currently has less than 30 days supply of passenger cars in North America and a six month supply of trucks. He said Nissan needs to make more changes and fast as the market shifts towards more fuel-efficient and compact cars.

Nissan plans on discontinuing the Quest minivan along with the Infiniti QX56 at its Canton, Mississippi plant.

Nissan’s passenger car sales were up 5.3 percent to 335,969 during the first six months of 2008. Light truck sales for Nissan fell 13.8 percent to 186,353 units.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)