Nissan 2007 Annual Report Download - page 28

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Nissan Annual Report 2006-2007
26
The European market is both mature and
saturated. Overall volume in the region was flat
in fiscal 2006, with Western Europe down. The
exception was Russia, which again enjoyed
excellent TIV growth. We ended the year at
539,000 units, almost in line with our retail sales
performance last year.
Nissan’s market presence in Western Europe,
however, has eroded. One major reason is that we’re
changing the model lineup, with three models—the
Almera, Almera Tino and Primera exiting most
markets. The one model we launched in 2006, the
Note, couldn’t fully compensate for the loss of those
three vehicles. However, we capitalized on strong
growth in Russia to maintain our total volume and
market share. Our final sales figure for Russia was
around 76,000 units.
Despite the sales challenges, Nissan Europe
reached a record consolidated operating profit again,
becoming the only Nissan region to meet its profit
commitment. We could have improved our sales
performance, but chose to concentrate on profitable
sales rather than chase volume.
Fiscal 2006 saw some significant restructuring,
including revamping the distribution network. In
January we gave one year’s notice to all dealers in
Germany, for example, keeping the best and
dropping those too small or financially insecure to
grow with us. We’re now attracting investors who are
able to offer professionally qualified sales staff in the
stores, a higher quality and wider range of services
for the customer and much better locations.
In the four Nordic territories—Norway, Denmark,
Sweden and Finland—we established a new regional
business unit to replace previous importers, and
restructured the dealer network. We did the same in
Central and Eastern Europe with Hungary, the Czech
Republic, Slovakia and Poland.
A high point for us in 2006 was the launch of our
Infiniti brand in Russia. We did this through three
large dealers, with two showcase showrooms in
Moscow and another in St. Petersburg. All three
meet the IREDI global standard. The launch was very
successful—we were able to deliver around 750
vehicles to customers before January. Sales have
accelerated since then, particularly of the FX. Having
a signature vehicle like the FX, which is very visible in
both cities, got us off to a quick start.
In Western Europe, we plan to launch the Infiniti
brand at the Geneva Motor Show next March—the G
series saloon and coupe, the FX, and a new small
luxury crossover, with sales starting in the last
quarter. We’ll offer a petrol-only line-up initially but
introduce diesel engines later. We plan to open a
large number of sales points in fall 2008, covering
between 15 and 20 countries.
Our two major launches this year are the Qashqai
and the new X-TRAIL. We believe the Qashqai will
be emblematic for the brand, demonstrating that
Nissan can offer something different to the
mainstream. The launch has been very successful,
with sales ahead of our expectations and a large
order bank.
Staying Profitable
and Picking Up the Pace
BRIAN CAROLIN
Senior Vice President
Nissan Europe
EUROPE
»REGIONAL ACTION