Nissan Names Shiga to Be COO

Nissan Motor Co., Japan’s second-largest carmaker, said Senior Vice President Toshiyuki Shiga would become chief operating officer when Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn becomes chief executive of Renault in April.

Shiga will oversee Nissan’s daily operations, the company said in a statement. Ghosn will continue to head Nissan after becoming the head of Renault, which owns a 44.4% stake in Nissan.

Nissan is aiming for a fifth consecutive year of record earnings. Shiga has run Tokyo-based Nissan’s operations outside of North America, Europe and Japan.

He boosted sales in China and Southeast Asia and helped negotiate the alliance with Renault in 1999. Ghosn will move to Paris this year to replace Renault Chief Executive Louis Schweitzer.

Shiga joined Nissan 29 years ago after graduating from the economics department at Osaka Prefecture University.

Ghosn has said a Japanese candidate would increase motivation among Nissan employees. The position has been vacant since his promotion to chief executive in 2001.

Ghosn has said that once he runs both companies, he will spend 40% of his time in Japan, 40% of his time in France and the remaining 20% in other regions.

Nissan, which produces the Titan pickup trucks in North America, has been vying with rivals Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. for market share.

A wider range of light trucks, produced from a factory opened in Mississippi in 2003, is helping Nissan win U.S. market share from Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp.

At the end of April, Ghosn will release details of Nissan’s three-year plan, starting that month. The plan may include the introduction of Infiniti-brand luxury cars to markets including Japan.