An article from today's WSJ:

Nissan Strives to Lift Sales
Auto Maker Adopts Long-Term Strategy To Revive Local Growth
By YOSHIO TAKAHASHI
May 30, 2006

TOKYO -- A top Nissan Motor Co. executive said the auto maker will combat the fall in Japanese sales with a long-term growth strategy rather than stopgap measures.

Nissan Chief Operating Officer Toshiyuki Shiga said the company is seeking to revive its domestic sales through long-term sustainable strategies rather than measures to quickly spark sales in the short term.

Nissan, in which Renault SA of France has a 44% stake, was the only major Japanese car maker to report sluggish sales last week.

Its domestic sales fell 18.5% from a year earlier to 44,008 vehicles in April, marking the seventh straight month of decline. In the U.S., sales fell for the second consecutive month in April, falling 5.3% to 86,720 vehicles.

Mr. Shiga said he anticipates U.S. sales will recover in the second half of Nissan's fiscal year, which ends in March, after the company rolls out new models later this year.

He said the drop in domestic sales in April was steeper than he expected. The figures stand in stark contrast to robust sales a year earlier, when Nissan had been working hard to meet its global sales target of 3.6 million vehicles for the year to Sept. 30, 2005.

In April 2005, its domestic sales jumped 17% to 54,003 vehicles.

Mr. Shiga also attributed the weaker-than-expected sales to relatively mild demand for vehicles in Japan despite an improving domestic economy.

"There are some other ways that will quickly [spur domestic sales], but we need to be patient" as Nissan will stick with steps to lift sales in the long term, he said.

Among its efforts, Nissan is seeking to improve customer service during and after the sale of a vehicle, he said. He declined to specify when he expects these efforts to pay off, saying only that their impact needs to translate into results soon.

Mr. Shiga said Nissan may increase its offering of minivehicles, though the company has no plans to produce such models on its own.

The minicar segment is growing even in the sluggish Japanese market. Nissan outsources production of minicars, which have engine capacities of 660 cubic centimeters or less, to Suzuki Motor Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp.

As for U.S. sales, Nissan, Japan's second-biggest car maker by sales volume, is lacking new models because the company has reached the end of its product cycle, Mr. Shiga said. Nissan continues to believe newly designed models such as the Versa compact will help support sales in the world's biggest auto market, he said.