© Reuters Nissan Chief Operating Officer Ashwani Gupta stands next to a car at a Nissan gallery in Yokohama, Japan November 29, 2021. REUTERS/Androniki Christodoulou/File photo
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By Pete Sweeney
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese automaker Nissan (OTC: ) Motor Co Ltd does not make medium- or long-term decisions based on foreign exchange market fluctuations, its chief operating officer said on Thursday, as the yen hovered near 24. – Year low.
The comments from Ashwani Gupta came amid a sharp sell-off against the US dollar this year, prompting warnings from the country’s top policymakers and concern over Japan Inc’s ability to plan for the future.
On Wednesday, officials gave the clearest signal yet that they were not comfortable with the currency’s recent sharp depreciation and were preparing to intervene, although analysts were skeptical that such a move would contain the yen’s slide as long as the U.S. dollar continued to rise.[FRX/]
Foreign exchange was the last factor in the “business chain” when planning, Gupta said in an interview with a Reuters reporter. “We do not make our decisions, especially mid-term and long-term decisions, based on the foreign exchange rate.”
Gupta said the automaker could face tougher regulations on clean cars in some countries because of its twin strategy of producing advanced hybrids and battery-electric vehicles of the “e-Power” variety.