NEW YORK (Nikkei)--Nissan Motor Co. will spend 1 billion dollars in the four years through fiscal 2003 to increase production capacity in the U.S. where sales are robust, company officials announced here Thursday.

Nissan will raise annual output capacity at an assembly plant in Smyrna, Tennessee to 500,000 cars, up from the 380,000 called for in a fiscal 2000 plan. The company will also expand a plant in Decherd, Tennessee to begin producing two large-engine models. Nissan aims to turn out 10 new car models over the next three years.

The automaker will increase the combined payroll at the two facilities by 2,000 to 7,700.

Output at the Smyrna plant, which currently assembles the Altima and three other models, will rise to 440,000 cars in fiscal 2001. It will begin assembling large pickup trucks once the new production system is ready.

The Decherd plant produces engines for the Altima.

(The Nihon Keizai Shimbun Friday evening edition)