TOKYO, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Nissan Diesel Motor Co on Tuesday unveiled a new business plan calling for the struggling Japanese truckmaker to cut its interest-bearing debt by around 40 percent to 250 billion yen ($2 billion) by March 2006.
The debt-choked firm also said it would expand ties with China's second-largest auto group, Dongfeng Motor Corp, to further its advance into the growing Chinese market and help counter the sluggish and overcrowded domestic truck market.
A decade-long decline in domestic demand for trucks has battered Japan's four truckmakers, and Nissan Diesel -- owned 22.5 percent each by Nissan Motor Co Ltd and Renault SA -- is regarded as one of the weakest.
The firm had interest-bearing debts of 416.9 billion yen as of March 31.
Nissan Diesel said on Tuesday it would aim for an operating profit margin of 5.5 percent in the year to March 2006, compared with 3.1 percent in 2001/02.
The truck and bus maker eked out a 0.9 percent rise in group net profit to 610 million yen in 2001/02, but saw its group sales fall eight percent to 371 billion yen. ($1=123.89 yen)