Nissan (NSANY) is the latest Japanese automaker to file better-than-expected results

Nissan (NSANY) is the latest Japanese automaker to file better-than-expected results. The Japanese company announced on Nov. 4 that it posted a $90 million net profit for the six months through September. Nissan also cut its full-year loss forecast to $400 million, compared with a previous projection of $1.79 billion. The company attributed the change in its outlook to the impact of government "cash for clunkers" programs as well as strong growth in China. Nissan is also benefiting from a gamut of cost-cutting measures, spelled out in February, designed to see the company through the worst of the financial crisis that sent global auto sales into free fall following the "Lehman Shock" a year ago.

Still, CEO Carlos Ghosn was wary about painting too bright a picture. "We continue to operate in an environment that is volatile and uncertain," said Ghosn in a statement. "Our outlook will remain cautious until we see evidence that economic recovery can be sustained in world markets."

Nissan's improved financial performance comes as the Yokohama-based automaker attempts to position itself as the industry's leading proponent of electric vehicles. Since Nissan lacked hybrid technology of its own, its green image lagged that of rivals Toyota (TM) and Honda (HMC) for years. However, in August the company showed off its Leaf electric car, which will go on sale in Japan and the U.S. in 2010, promises to run 100 miles on a single charge, and cost no more to buy and run than an equivalent gasoline car.

Electric Car Bullishness

Alongside French alliance partner Renault (RENA.PA), also led by Ghosn, Nissan is building up enough production capacity to make hundreds of thousands of electric cars a year—far more than any other major automaker. Nissan plans to market the Leaf globally by 2012, and by 2020 Ghosn predicts EVs will account for 10% of total car sales. "The world is eager to address concerns about global CO2 emissions, and we are proposing solutions to meet the environmental challenge," Ghosn said at the Tokyo Motor Show last month. "The solution is mass-marked zero-emission mobility on a global scale."

That bullishness, backed up by $5.4 billion of investment in EVs and batteries by Nissan and Renault, has helped the Japanese automaker's stock price to double this year. By comparison, shares of Toyota and Honda are up 22% and 49%, respectively.

Still, as positive as all that sounds, not everyone is convinced that Nissan is a better bet than Honda, which has avoided annual losses during the current crisis, or Toyota, which on Nov. 4 announced it was quitting Formula One racing as it battles to get back into profit. Indeed, speak with auto industry watchers in Tokyo, and Nissan attracts greater skepticism than many of its Japanese rivals, save the perennially struggling automaker Mitsubishi Motors