Nissan 2010 Annual Report Download - page 16

NISSAN NV
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In India, another market we are focusing on in the
mid-term, we’ve entered into a partnership with Ashok
Leyland. Ashok Leyland sells heavy trucks in India and is not
a competitor. However, they want to enter the LCV market.
Given their understanding of the local market and our
experience in LCVs, this partnership is advantageous. LCV
production there will start in mid-2011.
Infiniti, Daimler and Strategic Cooperation
Infiniti represents an opportunity to showcase our
technologies in the luxury segment. While the luxury
segment does not represent a large percentage of total
industry volume, it does constitute a significant portion of
total industry profit.
Today we sell over 100,000 Infiniti vehicles a year. We
want to increase our presence, but the demand must come
from the customer side. Our strategy, therefore, is focused
on the brand. We want the customer to feel inspired by
Infiniti’s performance and craftsmanship executed through
excellent Japanese design and manufacturing.
During the crisis, luxury market customers began to put
higher priority on fuel economy and emissions than they
have in the past. The most notable shortfall in our product
lineup was the lack of strong diesel engines for Europe. The
cooperation with Daimler is a game-changer for us in that
respect. Daimler has the diesel engine technology and
powertrain technology we needed. Suddenly we are able to
bring to market a great engine in a great car and dream
about having a reasonable presence in Europe. There is very
little cross shopping of luxury customers between Infiniti
and Mercedes, making our relationship only minimally
competitive. We are therefore optimistic that our strategic
partnership will result in several beneficial projects for the
luxury lineups of both companies.
Renewed Focus on Key Global Segments
We have identified key models in the Nissan and Infiniti
lineups that are global drivers of volume because they
compete in important segments across the globe. We will be
uncompromising about getting these global growth models
right and making sure that the entire business process from
design to the sales network gives them the priority they
deserve.
The crisis helped us see what was most important—our
customer. For example, we identified issues with the
proportions of one car that was near the final stages of
“model freeze.” As a result, we delayed the introduction of
this vehicle. In the past, particularly for a new car in a new
segment, we may have rushed the launch of the vehicle and
modified or replaced it over time. We now introduce models
only when we are confident we got it right. It is integral for
our brand and our future to be uncompromising and do what
is best for our customers.