Nissan to double US sales of electric Leaf: Ghosn

Ghosn, never one to shy away from bold predictions, also forecast that Nissan will pick up market share in the US again this year thanks to a fresh product offensive.

"2011 wasn't a bad year for us," he said during a press conference at the Detroit auto show.

"The company is moving in the right direction," he said.

"We did not lose market share in one market in which we compete. In 2012, this is going to grow again."

All the automotive markets, except in Europe, are growing, Ghosn said, adding that Nissan has expanded its presence in emerging markets such as China, Russia, India and Brazil.

Nissan, which unlike Toyota and Honda did not suffer major supply disruptions following the March earthquake-tsunami-nuclear disaster in Japan, posted a 14 per cent jump in US sales to 1.04 million vehicles.

Its market share rose 0.4 points to 8.2 per cent, edging up against Honda, which holds 5th place in the crowded US market with a nine per cent share.

Nissan sold 9,700 electric Leafs in the United States in 2011 and would have sold more if the Japanese automaker had been able to secure more batteries, he said.

Its sales were also constricted by a slow introduction that limited sales to just seven states in order to better phase-in the necessary plug-in electric infrastructure.

It will be available in all 50 states before the end of 2012, Ghosn said.

The strong yen taking a bite out of Nissan's profits and the automaker is expanding its overseas production in order to offset its foreign exchange exposure.

It is expected to announce the location of a planned new plant in Mexico shortly and its Tennessee and Mississippi plants are operating at near capacity.