Nissan 2014 Annual Report Download - page 9

Alliance
Our growth potential also reflects benefits from the Renault-Nissan Alliance,
which achieved combined sales of 8.3 million units last year. We are
committed to extracting further benefits from the Alliance. We marked the
15th anniversary of the Alliance by accelerating convergence in four key
functions Engineering, Manufacturing & Supply Chain Management,
Purchasing, and Human Resources.
Convergence in these four key business functions will result in an
immediate increase in efficiency and leverage our size to achieve competitive
economies of scale. The synergies will then enable us to deliver higher-value
vehicles to customers and stay at the leading edge of innovation. Together,
these projects aim to deliver annualized synergies of at least €4.3 billion by
2016.
In parallel, we are continuing to develop Alliance partnerships such as
joint-engine development with Daimler, mini cars with Mitsubishi, with Ashok
Leyland in commercial vehicles and, importantly, with AvtoVAZ in the
promising Russian market.
Technology
Our Alliance ambitions coincide with a deep commitment to technological
innovation. Nissan remains at the forefront of autonomous driving, which has
the potential to revolutionize our industry. Nissan has pledged to bring
commercially viable autonomous drive vehicles by 2020. This initiative forms
part of Nissan’s commitment to zero fatalities, and we have become the first
Japanese automaker to road-test autonomous-drive vehicles.
Year ahead
Looking forward, we anticipate continued sales growth in the current fiscal
year, benefiting from further product launches and the impact of new capacity
coming on-stream in markets including Mexico and Brazil. Nissan is launching
10 new vehicles this year, including the new Murano, the new Pulsar
C-segment hatchback in Europe, the new zero-emissions e-NV200 in Japan
and Europe, a number of Datsuns, a new one-ton pick-up truck and long-
wheel-base Infiniti models in China. Nissan will also continue to innovate and
expand in key areas such as light commercial vehicles, zero emissions and
aftersales.
This innovation-focus and product-launch schedule will enable Nissan to
capitalize on market conditions as they improve around the world. We
continue to see improvements in our US performance. Europe is showing
signs of recovery. We remain positive about the Russian market. Sales are
also forecast to grow healthily this year in China, where we will begin
production of a Venucia-branded electric car, as well as two Infiniti models,
whilst also opening our fourth plant in Dalian. Together, such trends should
help offset any impact from the sales tax increase in Japan, which could
dampen consumer demand.
Conclusion
As detailed in this report, Nissan is making satisfactory progress. We are
moving in the right direction, reflected by our financial results and sales
figures. In a further sign of confidence, we have increased the dividend pay-
out ratio from a minimum target of 25% to 30% for the remainder of the plan.
Nissan is a company committed to exceeding expectations: for
customers, for suppliers, for employees and for shareholders alike. We will
relentlessly pursue growth opportunities and continue to focus on quality and
cost competitiveness, sales power, sustainability and innovation. Nissan is on
the move. Please join us for the journey.
Carlos Ghosn
President and Chief Executive Officer
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
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NISSAN MOTOR CORPORATION ANNUAL REPORT 2014
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CONTENTS
CORPORATE FACE TIME
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EXECUTIVE PROFILE
NISSAN POWER 88
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE