10 Nissan Units in U.S. Will Be Combined

Nissan Motor Co., which is trying to become the first Japanese auto maker to have a fully autonomous operation outside Japan, said it will consolidate its 10 U.S. subsidiaries next month under a new umbrella company based in Torrance.

The new company, Nissan North America Inc., will supervise sales, finance, research and development, and other operations in the U.S. market, Nissan officials said. The creation of the firm follows the establishment of Nissan Europe N.V. in Amsterdam last April to carry out similar functions in Europe.

For two decades, Nissan sold cars in the United States under the Datsun brand. Then, in 1982, the company adopted the Nissan badge worldwide--a move that caused widespread confusion among U.S. consumers and preceded Nissan’s stumble in the North American automotive market.

By 1988 Nissan had fallen from second to third place in the United States among Japanese producers, selling just 473,000 cars in this country.

The company’s sales have since picked up, and Nissan officials say they want to solidify the improvement by designing, engineering and building cars in each of the three major markets where they sell cars: Japan, the United States and Europe.

Analysts applauded the consolidation move, saying Nissan needs to be shaken up. But the analysts predicted that the move will have little or no impact on consumers.

In other news Tuesday, Nissan said it expects its exports to rise only 0.2% next year, but overseas production will increase by 7%. Nissan’s market share in Japan is 23.8%.