Nissan joins the US million club

NISSAN has sold 1m vehicles in the US within 12 months, joining an exclusive club of five other groups that have passed this threshold.

The milestone for the Japanese company linked with Renault of France underlines the advances of Asia's carmakers in the US market in the face of fierce competition.

It also comes within weeks of a shock profits warning from General Motors, which said net income for the year could fall as much as 80%.

Jed Connelly, senior vice president, sales and marketing for Nissan's US division, said: 'This is the first time in Nissan North America's history we've ever sold 1m units in a year.'

The other five companies in the million club are Detroit's Big Three - GM, Ford and Daimler-Chrysler, plus Honda and Toyota.

Nissan passed the mark yesterday afternoon, hours before the end of its fiscal year.

The popularity of its Altima mid-size saloon, Frontier pick-up and sports utility models such as Pathfinder have fuelled the sales surge.

Last year, the Big Three claimed 58.8% of the US market of almost 17m, down four percentage points on their performance in 2003.

By contrast, Asia's carmakers increased their combined share to 35.5% from 31.8%.