Nissan has yet another year of impressive production gains

Nissan has announced its 2013 numbers and they reflect the aggressive growth strategy of the company. Despite production decreases in Japan, Mexico, and the U.K., Nissan showed year-on-year production increases of 1.3 percent, rising to nearly 5 million units globally.

Most of that production increase was in the United States and China, which saw 22.9 percent and 18 percent increases respectively. These offset the decrease in Japanese production year-on-year by 16 percent and the near-level production numbers from Mexico and the U.K. as well as the 7.9 percent decrease in Spain. Total production in the United States was 792,135 units for 2013 as facilities in both Tennessee and Mississippi increased capacity and took on new regional focus for popular models such as the Rogue, Altima, and LEAF.

These production increases were met by a 3.3 percent global sales increase, jumping to just over 5.1 million units, which set an all-time calendar year record for Nissan. Japanese sales were up about 3 percent while sales in the U.S., Mexico, China and nearly every other region were also up.

In the U.S., sales jumped by about 9.4 percent year-on-year while in China, they jumped 17.2 percent, both of which set new all-time calendar year records for Nissan in those markets. Records were also set in Mexico and other sales territories. The only region with a sales drop was Europe, whose overall automotive market was down as well.

The big news for 2013 were the export losses in Japan as Nissan's overall exports from that domestic market decreased by 19.6 percent to 542,415 units. Most of this decrease was due to the expansions Nissan made with near-market production in other regions. Key changes there were the addition of new lines in both American and Mexican facilities as well as expansion in China.

All in all, a good year for Nissan that showcases the beginnings of their aggressive maneuvering to improve capacity and expand markets.