Nissan 2005 Annual Report Download - page 68

Nissan Annual Report 2004
66
to export parts and components from Thailand worldwide,
which will result in a great cost advantage. We see more
opportunities in Malaysia and Indonesia as well.
Two other interesting countries for us are India and
Pakistan, which NISSAN Value-Up identifies as next steps
in our global expansion. Currently, Pakistan’s auto market
totals just 100,000 vehicles a year, while in India annual
sales are 1.2 million. Both markets are expected to grow.
This year, we will determine our strategies for India and
Pakistan based on feasibility studies. We’ve already
established a wholly owned subsidiary in Mumbai that will
first focus on imports and later serve as a base camp to
learn more about the market in India.
Perhaps the biggest news for GOM in Asia was the
summer 2005 launch of the Infiniti in Korea. This is the
first-ever launch of the full brand independent of Nissan’s
sales network and outside of the U.S. Korea is a good-
sized market and a good first step in Infiniti’s development
as a globally recognized luxury brand. Although we have set
a modest annual sales target of just 5,000 vehicles within
three years, Korea will be a strategic market for
establishing the Infiniti brand before the scheduled
launches in Russia, China, and eventually Japan.
Southeast Asia is also a major emerging market for
Nissan. We have reinforced our strength with a solid
strategy in the region, and are now ready to invest.”
GENERAL OVERSEAS MARKETS
“General Overseas Markets
oversees a huge territory,
including countries as
diverse and geographically
separated as Pakistan and
Tahiti. Fiscal 2004 was a
good year for us in GOM,
with retail sales going up
more than 10 percent. All our
major markets exhibited
growth. Taiwan and Australia
were the biggest contributors
with sales of 70,000 and 63,000 units, respectively.
Australia’s auto market was particularly good for us—
we’re now the number-four automaker there. Strong
demand for the Nissan Pickup and X-TRAIL was
responsible for the jump in sales. Although there
were no new passenger car releases, the dealers did
an excellent job selling the current lineup.
In the past, we left local sales up to our sales
affiliates in each market. However, we’ve recently
altered our strategy in an effort to unify the brand and
service level. Emphasizing the importance of
consistency to the sales companies has made it
much easier to promote the Nissan way of doing
business. We have also increased our shares in local
companies, such as in Thailand and Taiwan, to
strengthen management control.
Fiscal 2005 will be challenging because we have no major
model launches planned. We’re committed to growth,
however, and I believe that having a clear strategy for each
market and a targeted approach to the customer will boost
our market position throughout the region.
Thailand is an important market for Nissan’s future.
Although we sell just over 50,000 vehicles a year there,
we plan to increase sales volume under NISSAN Value-Up.
We’re also expanding production capacity and planning to
localize Thailand as an export base for Pickups. We intend
A Solid Strategy for Growth
Asia/Oceania
YASUAKI HASHIMOTO
Vice President
OUR WORLD
PICKUP Infiniti in Korea