Nissan’s new models help it hit record sales

Motor giant Nissan today announced a one-third jump in quarterly profit and projected a 28 per cent rise in the year ahead, driven by brisk sales in most major markets and the launch of ten new models around the world.

Nissan has outshone domestic rivals in the past year as chief executive Carlos Ghosn has pushed aggressively into fast-growing markets such as China and Russia.

First quarter operating profit at the Japanese car manufacturer rose 33 per cent to 118.1 billion yen (£918.5m),.

For the year to next March, Nissan projected an operating profit of 700 billion yen – the best since the global financial crisis – and net profit of 400 billion yen.

Nissan is 43.4 per cent owned by France’s Renault.