Nissan rising: Japanese brand now unified under one company in PH

Nissan—its very name means Japan Industries. Nissan is strongly positioned in the global market, with a range of industry-leading technology, from electric vehicles like the Leaf to its motorsports presence through Infiniti and allied brand Renault in Formula One. Its cars are among the best in their respective fields, and it is about to get into motion once again in the Philippine market. The Japanese brand has established a new company, Nissan Philippines Inc., to handle marketing and sales. The brand is set introduce new models, attract new customers, and once again establish a strong presence in Manila.

The first move will be to re-launch the Nissan brand on March 7. A new company, Nissan Philippines Inc., was incorporated in September 2013, and officially began operations on March 1. Nissan Philippines Inc. is a joint venture between Nissan Motors Limited of Japan, Universal Motors Corporation (UMC) and Nissan Motor Philippines Inc. (NMPI).

Before the merger, Nissan had the unique situation—and likely disadvantage—of having two separate companies market its products. UMC assembled and sold the utility vehicle range, such as the Patrol and Urvan, while NMPI assembled and sold passenger cars such as the Almera and Teana sedans. NMPI is majority owned by Taiwan’s Yulon group.

Under Nissan Philippines Inc., marketing and sales will all be under one company. UMC and NMPI will continue to act as toll or contract manufacturer for the joint-venture firm. The unification will pave the way for more Nissan models making their way to the local market. The move will also presumably unleash the potential of the Nissan brand, which once dominated several categories in the local market, but which has lately been languishing behind more aggressive brands with newer model lineups.

Heading the new firm as president and managing director is Kenji Naito. Naito previously headed Nissan Korea from 2010-2013. He launched the Cube, Pathfinder and Juke utility vehicles in the Korean market. He also launched the first Japanese diesel models in Korea, the Infiniti FX30d and the M30d. Here’s hoping that he spearheads a similar move to introduce diesels in the Philippines. Japanese diesels for passenger cars and crossovers are still scarce, despite the availability of some excellent engines abroad. SJ Huh will be head of HR, General Affairs and Legal. He has previously worked in Australia. Lee Junia will be general manager of Sales. He moves from his post as NMPI senior vice president for marketing.

Expected to take the center stage along with the new company’s executives are a pair of sedans, the midsize Altima and the compact Sylphy.

The Altima has been marketed in the Philippines in the 1990s, as the bulbous sedan that replaced the Bluebird, that replaced the Maxima. This is the fifth generation of that line, and this one is designed to compete with the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. Base engine is a 2.5-liter inline-four cylinder, with an available 3.5-liter V6. The Altima is the cornerstone of Nissan USA sales, with the popular sedan selling more than 320,000 units last year.

The Sylphy is Nissan’s alternate name for the Sentra and as such the new car is expected to replace the current Sentra, which is already 11 years old. Confusingly, the car was previously known as the Bluebird Sylphy. Sylphy, in various names, is sold in USA, Japan, China, and Thailand. The Sylphy carries a 1.8-liter inline-four paired with a CVT. Like the Almera, Sylphy promises interior space on par with cars one class above.

The new company should also unlock the potential of its current lineup, which includes popular utility vehicle Urvan and the underrated Almera.