Missed targets means no bonuses

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YOKOHAMA, Japan, June 20 (UPI) -- No bonuses will be given to Nissan board members because the Japanese carmaker failed to reach annual performance targets, company officials said Wednesday.

"In 2006, we did not meet our fiscal year performance objectives and we are taking that responsibility seriously," Carlos Ghosn, chief executive officer of both Nissan and its French alliance partner Renault, said at the company's annual meeting in Yokohama.

Japan's third-largest carmaker -- in which Renault has a 44 percent stake -- last year reported its first drop in profits in eight years due to slower sales in U.S and Japanese markets, the Financial Times reported. Toyota and Honda, however, reported record sales in 2006.

The carmaker said it will delay by a year its commitments under the Nissan Value-Up program, which would be to achieve the highest operating margin of all global carmakers, sell 4.2 million vehicles in fiscal 2008 and see a 20 percent average return on investment.

Auto analyst Kurt Sanger said Nissan suffered from not having a car line with an engine of 660cc or less when smaller cars were popular.