Nissan Motor Company: Aiming for emerging markets

Nissan Motor Company’s CEO Carlos Ghosn told the reporters on Thursday that the car market in most of the developed countries would stabilize by 2010. He said that auto makers should focus on emerging markets. According to Ghosn, US auto market will experience recession in 2008 and stabilize by 2009-10. Reuters reports:

"Japan at best will see stagnation, West Europe at best stagnation, the U.S. is slumping in 2008 and at best in 2009-2010, we will see stabilisation," he told a news conference.

"The growth will come from emerging markets."

Ghosn, also head of Nissan's majority shareholder Renault SA (RENA.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), repeated that the two companies remained open to expanding their alliance to a third member but that they were in no rush.

Two years ago, billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian proposed an alliance with General Motors Corporation. Nissan’s recent deal with Chrysler again sparked the alliance rumor but Ghosn said that it was an OEM (original equipment manufacturing) deal.

Japan’s third largest auto maker is now entering the next phase of its business. On May 13, it will disclose its new five year business plan. Carlos did not disclose any detail but he said that the company is re-engineered and restructured and now it is ready to compete again.

Related article:

Reuters