Nissan Plans to Sell More Than 3 Million Vehicles in 2003

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Japan's Number Two Automaker is Capable of Riding Out Auto Market Fluctuations

With cars like the new 2004 Maxima, Nissan plans to grow its share of the global auto market to 3 million cars annually. (Photo: Nissan)

According to Nissan Motor Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn, the Japanese automaker will sell more than 3 million cars this year, its best performance in a decade.

"It will be another year of strong growth," Ghosn stated to the financial daily La Tribune in an interview. "We should pass the level of three million cars sold for the first time in ten years."

The bold new Murano has proven popular during its initial six months of sales, opening up an entirely new segment to the Japanese company. A new full-size pickup, all new Pathfinder and, no doubt, updated Sentra will continue to spur on sales in coming years. (Photo: Nissan)

That's a bullish prediction, especially considering the uncertainty of our times - especially considering the interview was published the day after Ghosn stated the Iraqi war would mean the demand for new cars in the U.S. and Europe during fiscal 2003-2004 could be lower than initially expected.

Additional he commented that Nissan would meet its profit targets for fiscal year 2002-2003 and was well situated to ride out any dip in the auto market during the remainder of the year.