Nissan's global total industry volume remained weak during the quarter, and Nissan's unit sales decreased as the company continued its efforts to normalise sales. Profitability was negatively impacted by the decrease in revenues and external factors such as raw material costs, exchange rate fluctuations and investments to meet regulatory standards. In the first quarter of fiscal year 2019, global total industry volume decreased 6.8 per cent to 22.5 million units, while Nissan's global unit sales decreased 6 per cent to 1.23 million units.
In Japan, Nissan's sales decreased 2.6 per cent to 1,26,000 units. In China, where Nissan reports figures on a calendar-year basis, unit sales increased 2.3 per cent to 3,44,000 units. In the U.S, Nissan's sales totalled 3,51,000 units. Nissan sales in Europe, including Russia, fell by 16.3 per cent to 1,35,000 units. Market share in Europe was 2.5 per cent. In other markets, including Asia and Oceania, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, Nissan's sales decreased 13.1 per cent to 1,74,000 units.
The company is therefore moving quickly to optimise cost structures and manufacturing operations by steadily refreshing its lineup. The company said in a statement, "To improve its overall utilisation rate, Nissan will reduce its global production capacity by 10 per cent. Furthermore, the company will reduce the size of its product lineup by at least 10% by the end of fiscal year 2022 in order to improve product competitiveness by focusing investment on global core models and strategic regional models."
The company will focus now on its Nissan Intelligent Mobility and will continue to make substantial investments in new technologies. This includes the ongoing rollout and evolution of the company's ProPILOT driver assistance system, as well as the launch of vehicles with electrified powertrains, including e-POWER models and battery-electric models, in new markets.
