Nissan Motor Co., facing its first loss in nine years, will shift production of some small cars sold overseas to Mexico as the surging yen erodes profits on vehicles exported from Japan.
"At ¥90 to the dollar we are losing money, so we have stopped production" of some models at home, Chief Financial Officer Alain Dassas said in an interview Wednesday in Tokyo. The company will begin shipping compacts to the Middle East from Mexico, he added.
Nissan, Japan's third-largest carmaker, plans to shift production of 130,000 vehicles to other countries over the next two fiscal years after the yen surged 23 percent in 2008.