Nissan Aims to Overtake Honda in U.S.

Nissan Motor Co. tells reporters it expects to surpass Honda Motor Co.'s share of the U.S. market by April 2017.

In January Nissan's U.S. unit sales topped Honda's 104,100 to 102,200, according to Autodata Corp. That pushed Nissan's share of the American market to 9.0% compared with 8.9% for Honda.

Jose Munoz, who heads Nissan operations in North America, vows to turn that one-month victory into a sustainable lead within two years. Nissan, he declares, is "becoming a powerhouse" in the region.

Munoz has acknowledged that reaching a 10% share isn't likely without adding capacity. But he thinks Nissan can find the output it needs by finding pockets of unused capacity among its existing factories in North America but mostly Japan.