Nissan Motor prepares to invest 60 billion yuan ($9.5 billion) in China over the next 5 years with its joint-venture partner as it looks forward to become a top three automaker in the world’s biggest market.
Having spent a long time as a second-tier player in China, Nissan and Dongfeng Group stated they plan to boost their volume to 2.6 million vehicles a year by 2022, up from 1.5 million vehicles in 2017.
Nissan plans to accomplish the goal, dubbed its “Triple One” strategy, by focusing on electric automobiles and Venucia, a no-frills regional brand Nissan operates in China – 2 market segments expected to see a rise in demand. It likewise intends to increase sales of light commercial vans and trucks.
China’s vehicle market has been dominated by General Motors and Volkswagen AG for almost two decades, with each of them selling 4 million vehicles in 2017. Nissan, along with Toyota Motor Corp, Ford Motor, and Honda Motor, lag far behind, each selling 1 million-plus automobiles a year.
Part of the strategy is to keep growing the Nissan brand and the company’s premium Infiniti brand, Nissan’s China chief Jun Seki stated.
Nissan and Dongfeng plan to increase the Nissan brand’s annual sales by 500,000 vehicles to 1.6 million vehicles a year by 2022. It likewise plans to improve Infiniti’s yearly sales by 100,000 vehicles to about 150,000 vehicles annually over the same time frame.
Still, more important a strategy is Nissan’s electrification strategy.
Seki stated the joint venture will release as many as 20 electrified vehicle models throughout all brands in an effort to offer approximately 700,000 such vehicles annually by 2022 leaving out electric light industrial vehicles, utilizing a mix of all-electric battery vehicles and so-called “e-Power” hybrids.