Nissan Philippines to expand business through dealership
By Monsi A. Serrano
Photo From ThePhilBizNewsOnPatrolPH/Ricky G. Velasco
Applying the business principle of Kaizen, NISSAN Philippines, Inc. discloses their aggressive expansion for 2019 as they gear for providing business opportunities through dealership system in the Philippines and ensure that growth breaks the industry average.
Ramesh Narasimhan, Nissan Philippines President and Managing Director said during the media appreciation night held at the City Of Dreams that they are targeting to have around 10 more dealerships for the current year adding to the 44 existing branches.
“The focus of Nissan Philippines is to have far better access to our customers and to let our customers have better access to Nissan products. Thus, we are really committed to expanding our footprint in the Philippines,” Nissan Philippines President revealed.
Interestingly, the sales of Nissan in 2018 stood at 34,952 units, up 40% from 2017, while then local auto industry faced a challenged in the decline of sales, Nissan Philippines Inc. was fortunate to handle this challenge.
“The Nissan’s average growth for the past three years has been at 58%, much higher compared to the industry’s 20% average annual growth during the period”, the Nissan Philippines Boss said.
Nissan Navara, was the big contributor to the sales and NSI was able to sell 16,140 units or which comprised the 46.2% of sales.
“That specific market segment actually grew because of the excise tax eliminations, so the pricing of the pickup went down. So the segment grew and from April to December, the growth in sales for 2018 was around 90% plus in Navarra versus sales in 2017″, Narasimhan proudly shared.
“The industry grew 30%, if you exclude Nissan, the industry grew 15%. So, Nissan had 50% impact in the growth in the segment,” he added.
In as much as Nissan Philippines wanted to sell more, the shortage in the supply last 2018 affected further sales boost. Just the same, the NSI official was very happy and optimistic for 2019 and Nissan is bound to push sales for its core models, as well as new models such as 370Z Nismo and Juke Nismo.
In a tête-à-tête of The Philippine Business and News and ThePhilBizNewsOnPatrolPH with Mr. Ramesh Narasimhan, we asked asked him NSI President what makes him very confident on the sales forecast for 2019 and why he is expanding the business using the strategy of dealership network creations.
“I am bullish because the economic policies are now taking shape and investors come to the Philippines now. Given this development, I am certain that there would be around 10% growth, if not higher for the current year. We always set our target higher each year, and of course, Nissan Philippines’ objective is to grow higher and perform better than before (2018),” he said in closing.