Nissan 2007 Annual Report Download - page 27

At the New York Auto Show we also unveiled the
Infiniti EX35, our first entry into the small luxury
crossover segment. Those sales will also be virtually
all incremental. The migration from traditional SUVs
to mid-sized crossovers and small SUVs in both
divisions is probably the biggest opportunity we have
in the short run, because those are rapidly growing
segments where we haven’t had a presence before.
Trucks represent a declining segment in which
the competition is very brutal. We’re not shying away
from that challenge, but we’re also not resorting to
deep incentives just to maintain a bigger presence in
a shrinking market. Our number one goal is
profitability, not chasing volumes.
From a brand perspective, our goal on the Nissan
side is to increase customer brand opinion. A lot of
new-car buyers consult Consumer Reports magazine
before deciding what to buy, so we were really pleased
to see that after a recent test by the magazine, they
gave the new Altima a very good review.
On the Infiniti side, the short-term goal is to
enhance brand recognition, because in relative terms
we’re a new brand in the U.S. luxury market.
Consumer Reports recognized Infiniti’s G35 and M
as two of the ten best cars in America for safety and
reliability in their respective categories. In the long
term, our goal is to become one of those Tier 1
luxury players. That’s something that has to be
earned—it’s not something you can just claim.
You have often heard Nissan talk about the
importance of good, competitive products. It’s what
customers see and, ultimately, what makes them choose
the brand they buy. But for products to be competitive
in the marketplace, Nissan must also be profitable. In
the automotive industry, that means cost competitive.
Cost competitiveness means first and foremost
having the right people, but also the right purchase
costs, efficient processes and an effective
organization. It is with this necessity in mind that
NNA moved its corporate headquarter in 2006 to
Nashville, Tennessee.
Customers see one product at the end of a
complex design, manufacturing and sales process.
For the customer to get the best product at the most
competitive cost, NNA must operate as one team.
Moving the sales, marketing, finance and all of the
administrative functions to be with manufacturing,
supply chain management and purchasing gave us
the opportunity to gain in efficiencies and better
understand the needs of customers.
The move went smoothly and the disruption was
minimized by good advanced planning. A corporate
regional headquarter building, Nissan Americas, is
under construction and everyone will relocate in the
summer of 2008.
This building will also help NNA manage more
effectively across the vast and complex region of the
Americas which stretches from Canada to Argentina.
The opportunities to better leverage our
infrastructure are big.
Products made in Mexico, such as Versa and
Sentra are exported within the region, primarily the
United States and also to more distant markets like
Russia. In Brazil, Nissan leverages the alliance with
Renault where we share manufacturing facilities, sales
and distribution as well as administrative functions.
NNA will continue to evolve as a regional entity
with the sole purpose of delivering better, more
competitive products for our customers with a higher
return for all our stakeholders.
Nissan Annual Report 2006-2007 25
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