Nissan 2008 Annual Report Download - page 38

36 Nissan Annual Report 2008
REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
EUROPE
Stepping Up the Pace
Russia
My territory is Eastern Europe, and basically
every market I oversee—including Russia, the
Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic,
Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey—is
growing. My mission is to capitalize on that
growth.
Russia is our big driver. In fiscal 2007 we sold
141,000 units there, up from 85,000 the year
before, overachieving our target by more than
20,000 units and raising market share from
4.3 to 5.1 percent. Political stability, foreign
investment and a hot economy are fueling this market
growth, particularly sales of oil, gas, precious metals
and so on. The buying power of Russian consumers is
rising, bringing more expensive vehicles within reach.
We launched several new cars in Russia during
fiscal 2007. Qashqai debuted in the spring, and is
performing phenomenally there and throughout
Europe—over 15,000 units are on back order in
Russia. We brought out the new X-TRAIL in Europe
in August, and buyer response in Russia has been
particularly strong. The Tiida compact sedan and
hatchback, introduced in October, have been a
pleasant surprise. Fiscal 2007 was also the first full
year for the Infiniti brand here. Despite having only
two dealerships in Moscow and one in St.
Petersburg, and just three models—the FX, G and
M—we sold 5,500 units.
We will be expanding our Russian sales network
from 55 outlets in 2007 to 160 by 2012, and rapidly
spreading east. Our Russian partners are strong,
both financially and in their car retailing expertise.
With the luxury market growing, we will also add
Infiniti outlets in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and
open new dealerships in all major regional cities
during the next few years.
Our nationwide consumer credit program, Nissan
Finance, is another potent factor, providing area
coverage our competitors do not. In a mature market
a credit program is nothing special, but in Russia—
where most customers pay in cash—it attracts new
business. Our brand image here is solid as well,
thanks to years of effort. Competition is intensifying,
however, so we are spending heavily on media, PR
and communications.
Although our fiscal 2008 goal is to maintain the
current market share, we could increase it if we have
more supply. Furthermore, in the fall we will introduce
the Qashqai+2—a great-looking new crossover with
better utility—and an all-new Murano. And although
domestic brands currently rule Russia’s LCV space,
we will be challenging that in 2008, starting with our
NP300 pickup, then Cabstar in September and
eventually a full range of Nissan LCVs. LCV buyers
are mostly corporate customers who expect special
treatment, so we are setting up a separate LCV
dealer network.
Nissan’s policy is to manufacture close to
markets where we have critical mass. Our new St.
Petersburg plant will begin producing the new Teana
next February, followed by X-TRAIL. Competitors
currently dominate the luxury saloon car segment,
but this next-generation Teana will be quite
competitive. The Alliance tie-up with Avtovaz also has
great potential.
If conditions remain essentially unchanged, I
predict that Russia will become Europe’s second-
biggest market after Germany. The current forecast
is for a TIV of 3.3 million units in fiscal 2008, up from
2.8 million last year. We are confident that we can be
a dominant player in this key market.
TORU SAITO
Senior Vice President
Nissan International SA
The groundbreaking ceremony for the new St. Petersburg plant