According to the carmaker, the decision to set up a new company, under review since May, has been taken in order to give the division more autonomy and a more flexible management. The goal of the new entity is to cope with the current, difficult forklift market and, at the same time, try to grow the business.
Nissan Forklift will have several headquarters in Japan and will be headed by Akira Shiki. The net assets of Nissan Forklift are worth 16,000 million yen ($182 million). The company will be in charge with “development, production and sales of industrial machinery.”
Separately, Nissan also announced a 167.9 billion yen operating profit ($1.9 billion) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2010, ending March 31, 2011. The carmaker sold 954,000 for the period, an increase of 32 percent compared to the same period of last fiscal year.
"First quarter results for Nissan are good and our recovery is vigorous and ahead of schedule," Carlos Ghosn, the Japanese manufacturer's CEO said when announcing the results.
"Challenging market conditions persist, but our performance reflects strong demand for Nissan's products as well as our relentless focus on operational efficiency. Despite uncertainty surrounding the ongoing global economic recovery, raw material costs and exchange rate volatility, we are confident to achieve our FY2010 forecast."
For the remainder of the fiscal year, Nissan plans to introduce ten new products globally, including the Juke and Leaf.
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