Nissan sees return to record ’96 sales by 2012
The Philippine arm of Japan’s Nissan Motor Co. launched an upgraded version of its locally assembled X-Trail sports utility vehicle (SUV) on Friday, saying this signalled the firm’s commitment to grow its business here.
The automotive firm will sustain investments in the country as industry sales here are projected to return to the 1996 record high by 2012, Nissan Motor Philippines, Inc. President Allen Chen said during the event.
The introduction of the new X-Trail comes barely two months after the firm unveiled the two-liter Sentra passenger car. It has so far sold 873 units of various models as of April, up 60.8% from the same period last year.
“We are confident [the new X-Trail] will increase Nissan’s sales and market share in the SUV category,” Yukihiko Kamitoh, Nissan Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. deputy managing director, said.
Nissan Motor Philippines expects to sell 200 units per month of the tweaked model, which is now fitted with a 2.5-liter engine and continuous variable transmission.
If so, the SUV will account for nearly half of the firm’s projected sales for 2010 of 2,874 units. The total sales target is a 20% improvement from year-ago levels.
The firm, which has assembly operations in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, expects the industry to rebound to its highest ever sales of 160,000 units recorded in 1996 “in two or three years’ time,” Mr. Chen said.
Ongoing work to revamp the country’s incentive package for car manufacturers via the new Motor Vehicle Development Plan supports this projection, he said.
The firm plans to launch one more vehicle, a new SUV within the year, to further boost sales, Mr. Chen said. He declined to elaborate. BusinessWorld