Nissan to build passenger cars in Brazil
DETROIT (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) said on Friday that it will start building two passenger cars in Brazil for the first time as it seeks to boost its presence in emerging markets.
Japan's third-largest automaker will build the five-seat Nissan Livina and seven-seat Nissan Grand Livina, which will go on sale in early 2009.
Nissan's announcement comes as domestic rival Suzuki Motor Corp (7269.T) said it would reenter Brazil's passenger car market in October, aiming to sell 7,000 Japan-made cars in the first year through a new distribution company.
Higher wages and cheaper credit have pushed up car demand in Brazil, which has become a major market for several international manufacturers.
The country's car market is dominated by global automakers such as Italy's Fiat (FIA.MI), Germany's Volkswagen AG (VOWG.DE), U.S.-based General Motors Corp GM.N and Ford Motor Co (F.N), followed by Japanese and French manufacturers.
(Reporting by Poornima Gupta; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
