Nissan Motor Co. on Tuesday released the new version of its March compact car, the first vehicle to feature a platform jointly developed with its French partner, Renault S.A.

The fully remodeled March's design and features will be highly competitive in the growing compact car market, Nissan President Carlos Ghosn said.

Nissan said the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry places the new March, whose engine displacement comes in 1,000cc, 1,200cc and 1,400cc, in the lowest emissions category. Owners of cars in this category enjoy more generous tax breaks, according to the ministry.

Owners of the March, whose original version was released in 1992, have the option of installing the firm's new telematics service, called Carwings. Users of the service can access news, weather information and maps, as well as information on nearby restaurants and entertainment facilities, Nissan said.

The new March, priced between 953,000 yen and 1.32 million yen, will hit the domestic market March 5. Nissan is targeting monthly sales of 8,000 units in the domestic market.

The new March is also scheduled for production at the firm's manufacturing plant in the United Kingdom in late 2002.

The car will be sold as the Micra in the European market, according to Nissan.

Auto output on rise

Domestic automobile production totaled 782,401 units in January, up 4.9 percent for the first year-on-year rise in five months, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said Tuesday.

Domestic sales remained sluggish, but an increase of more than 5 percent in exports, led by strong demand for Japanese cars in the North American market, contributed to the gain, JAMA said.

Cumulative domestic production since April, or the first 10 months of fiscal 2001, came to 7.96 million vehicles, down 2.8 percent from a year earlier.

Domestic auto production in fiscal 2001 is therefore unlikely to top 10 million units, compared with some 10.04 million the previous year, a JAMA official said.

In January, passenger car production climbed 6.3 percent from the same month last year to 657,105 units, the first rise in three months. The total included 273,391 small passenger cars, up 1.6 percent for the first gain in 13 months on strong demand for Honda Motor Co.'s Fit subcompact cars.

Truck output declined for the fifth consecutive month to 120,954 units, down 2.1 percent.

Most of Japan's 11 automakers boosted domestic output in January, with Honda scoring a 12.1 percent jump to 99,458 vehicles.