The Nissan company's headquarters in Yokohama, Tokyo. Toru Yamanaka/ AFP
The Nissan company's headquarters in Yokohama, Tokyo. Toru Yamanaka/ AFP

Nissan sales in Middle East rise but inspection issue clouds outlook



Japanese car major Nissan on Thursday said sales in markets including the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Oceania and Latin America, increased by 2 per cent to 607,000 units - beating the increase in Europe, including Russia, where sales rose by just 0.3 per cent to 544,000 units, despite an inspection scandal that hurt its figures.

The bigger increase in MEA, Asia and Ociania for the 12 months to the end of December was due amid rising demand for models such as the Nissan Kicks and Datsun redi-GO, Nissan said.

Vice president Joji Tagawa said it had been a "challenging" period for the car maker but that he saw some light at the end of the tunnel.

"We remain focused on improving the state of our business performance and our financial results despite market headwinds ... we expect to normalise our operations by the end of the fiscal year," he said.

"We take it very seriously so we are putting in place various measures to cope with the situation."

In China sales increased 12.2 per cent to 1.52 million units.

For the nine-month period to December 31, 2017, Nissan’s global unit sales were 4.109 million units, an increase of 2.9 per cent over the same period of fiscal year 2016.

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In Japan, unit sales increased by 9.7 per cent to 378,000 units as a sharp rise in mini-car demand offset a 3.4 per cent decrease in registered car sales to 252,000 units due to the damaging final vehicle inspection scandal. Because of that, the firm cut its forecast for full-year operating profit after saying the issue had "adversely impacted" the firm's performance.

Nissan said it now expects operating profit of ¥565 billion (Dh19.09bn) for the fiscal year to March 2018, a drop of 12.4 per cent from its previous estimate in November, according to AFP.

"During the period, the group's performance was adversely impacted by special items related to the final vehicle inspection issue in Japan, along with slowing sales growth, negative pricing trends and inventory adjustments in the US market," Nissan said.

Nissan was forced to recall some 1.2 million vehicles after admitting in October that staff without proper authorisation had conducted final inspections on some vehicles intended for the domestic market before they were shipped to dealers.

The car maker suspended all domestic production for a few weeks, sending its passenger car sales plummeting more than 55 per cent in Japan in October.

In a bid to atone for the inspection scandal, chief executive Hiroto Saikawa said he was "voluntarily" returning his pay, along with other executives.

Nissan's operating profit for the nine months to December 2017 was ¥364.2bn, a 27.6 per cent decline from the same period last year.

MATCH INFO

FA Cup final

Chelsea 1
Hazard (22' pen)

Manchester United 0

Man of the match: Eden Hazard (Chelsea)

Who has been sanctioned?

Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.

Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.

Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.

Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.

The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

On sale: Now

Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

  • Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
  • Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
  • Duration: Can linger for days
  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

MEYDAN RESULTS

6.30pm Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh125,000 (Dirt) 1,400m

Winner ES Ajeeb, Sam Hitchcock (jockey), Ibrahim Aseel (trainer).          

7.05pm Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,200m

Winner  Galaxy Road, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.

7.40pm Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m

Winner  Al Modayar, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.

8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh170,000 (D) 1,900m

Winner  Gundogdu, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.

8.50pm Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m

Winner George Villiers, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.

9.25pm Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 (D)1,200m

Winner  Lady Parma, Connor Beasley, Satish Seemar

10pm Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m

Winner Zaajer, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888