Tokyo — Nissan Motor forecast an unexpected 7.7% fall in operating profit this year on higher raw material costs and a negative currency impact, as it adjusts to changes in the US market, its biggest, where larger vehicles are in demand. Nissan and other Japanese car makers are scrambling to offset slackening demand for their traditional mainstays, sedans, in the key US market by boosting supply of higher-margin sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and trucks. They are betting that even as overall US vehicle demand ebbs, drivers will continue to buy the larger models, given historically low US fuel prices. Nissan, Japan’s second-largest car maker, expects a 1.2% lift in US vehicle sales this year. While it expects sales growth to slow from last year, it sees a positive impact from new versions of its popular Rogue crossover SUV and its Titan truck which hit the market this year. "We moved from being typically a 60% car and 40% truck company to 50-50 (in our offerings). We’re on our way to...
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