TOKYO, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Japan's Nissan Motor Co. on Tuesday reported 367.72 billion yen (3.5 billion U.S. dollars) in net loss in the April-December period.

The Japanese automaker said its sales were dampened amid the COVID-19 pandemic which caused slumping auto demand in North America and other key markets.

As its sales decreased by 29.2 percent from a year earlier to 5.32 trillion yen (50.64 billion dollars), Nissan's operating loss came to 131.63 billion yen (1.25 billion dollars), the company said.

Nissan previously projected a loss of 615 billion yen (5.85 billion dollars) in the current fiscal year through March, but now expects a smaller net loss of 530 billion yen (5.04 billion dollars) and will remain in the red for the second consecutive year.

The automaker brought down its global sales target to 4,015,000 units from 4,165,000 units. The adjusted target represents an 18.6 percent drop compared to fiscal 2019.

In fiscal 2020, the company's sales are expected to drop 22.1 percent to 7.7 trillion yen (73.29 billion dollars), revised from the previous projection of 7.94 trillion yen (75.57 billion dollars).

Meanwhile, an operating loss of 205 billion yen (1.95 billion dollars) is expected, Nissan said.

"We will try to minimize the impact of the semiconductor shortage ... and strive to improve profitability without excessively pursuing (an increase) in volume," said Nissan Chief Executive Officer Makoto Uchida.

In an effort to ensure future growth, the company is increasingly paying attention to electric cars and autonomous driving technology.

The automaker has identified Japan, China and the United States as core markets and set a goal of selling all of its new vehicles partially or fully electrified in the three countries by the early 2030s. Enditem