June 10 (Bloomberg) -- Nissan Motor Co. may offer the March and Cube small cars, the automaker's top-selling models in Japan, in the U.S. should higher gasoline prices boost demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles, Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said.

``We're going to measure feedback coming from the media and from the analysts, and as a function of this we're going to make our decision,'' Ghosn said in an interview from Sausalito, California. ``There is no doubt about it, if the American consumers want more fuel-efficient cars we're ready for it.''

Automakers and analysts are watching whether U.S. consumers buy more fuel-efficient cars and trucks because of higher gasoline prices. The average retail price of regular gasoline reached a record $2.064 a gallon in May and has risen 38 percent to $2.034 this year, the U.S. Energy Department said Monday.

Nissan, Japan's second-biggest automaker, gained U.S. market share for the past two years with new models whose engines are among the most powerful in their vehicle category, such as the 265-horsepower Maxima sedan and 305-horsepower Titan pickup truck. The March and Cube have 1.4-liter engines and travel about 40 miles per gallon of gasoline.

The small cars are part of a two-week display in San Francisco of Tokyo-based Nissan's global vehicle line. The box- shaped Cube wagon and March hatchback, which is sold in Europe as the Micra, led Nissan sales in Japan in the year that ended March 31. Sales reached 151,797 for the Cube and 119,628 for the March.

``We are a global car manufacturer and we want to be present in all segments of the market,'' Ghosn said.

Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. for more than three years have sought to win over buyers who want fuel efficiency with gas-electric cars, including Toyota's Prius and Honda's Civic Hybrid and Insight. Both plan more such models this year.

Production Plans

Ghosn also said he expects Nissan to reach full capacity within three years at its four North American auto plants, in Smyrna, Tennessee; Canton, Mississippi; and Aguascalientes and Cuernavaca, Mexico. Nissan last year cut output at Aguascalientes because of falling U.S. sales of the Sentra cars built there.

``Soon we're going to have to determine if we need or not -- and when -- to continue to increase our capacities, particularly in the U.S.,'' Ghosn said.

He told investors at a New York conference last month that the company may decide on adding North American production capacity as early as this business year. Nissan's U.S. sales grew 7.4 percent in 2003 and have risen 28 percent this year through May, the most of any major automaker.

The company, 44 percent owned by France's Renault SA, today was judged the most efficient automaker in North America for a 10th year in a row, in an annual productivity study by Troy, Michigan-based Harbour Consulting.

Nissan's U.S. operations are based in Gardena, California. The company's American depositary receipts rose 63 cents, or 3.1 percent, to $21.15 in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. They have fallen 5.8 percent this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alan Ohnsman in Los Angeles at aohnsman@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 10, 2004 18:05 EDT