Nissan 2013 Annual Report Download - page 11

FIRMLY FOCUSED ON OUR GOALS PREPARED FOR FUTURE CHALLENGES
We also further leveraged our industry partnerships to increase sales and set
the stage for further sales growth in the years ahead. The 14-year-old
Alliance between Nissan and Renault continues to be a model partnership
and one where both companies benefit from combined investment, reduced
costs and overall operational efficiencies. In 2012, we expanded the Alliance
to include AVTOVAZ, Russia's largest carmaker. The Alliance aims to secure a
40% share in the fast-growing Russian market. Earlier this year, we
announced a fuel-cell technology collaboration among Nissan, Daimler and
Ford. Our goal is to accelerate the launch of the world’s first affordable, mass-
market fuel-cell electric vehicle by as early as 2017.
Each of these achievements is in line with our Nissan Power 88 goals,
which start with producing and selling world-class products. As part of the
Nissan Power 88 strategy, we are committed to delivering one new vehicle
every six weeks, on average, for all six years of the Nissan Power 88 term. In
2012, we fulfilled this goal and introduced 10 innovative new models,
including three global growth models, Altima, Note and Sentra, in markets
worldwide.
Our activities were especially strong in several high-growth markets,
including Thailand, Australia and Brazil, where we saw significant
improvements over last year. To continue expanding and maximizing our
operations in global growth markets, we invested a record amount to increase
production capacity during 2012.
For fiscal year 2013, we will continue to execute our Nissan Power 88
strategy. I want to note that, in 2013, our capacity-building investments will
exceed 2012’s record levels. And we’ll continue to focus these investments in
high-growth markets.
Nissan faced a number of challenges during fiscal year 2012. Like other
Japanese automakers operating in China, the company was negatively
impacted by political tensions and demonstrations surrounding the islands
dispute. When the islands dispute began last summer, it had a swift and
significant impact. In the second week of September, showroom traffic
suddenly declined by 57% and retail sales dropped by more than 50%. While
activity has since improved, the challenges we faced in 2012 have not been
fully overcome and won’t be for some time.
However, we anticipate that Nissan and Venucia product launches will
boost sales, especially the introduction of the new Teana, which is the flagship
of the Nissan brand in China. We also plan to increase dealer network
coverage by opening 40 new Nissan dealers and 20 new Venucia dealers. In
addition we will increase the number of Infiniti outlets from 60 to 66.
10
NISSAN MOTOR COMPANY ANNUAL REPORT 2013
MANAGEMENT MESSAGES
CONTENTS
CORPORATE FACE TIME
PERFORMANCE
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
NISSAN POWER 88