Urvan warfare: Nissan PH announces NV350 Urvan for June launch

Last week, Nissan Philippines Inc. (NPI) announced a record first quarter growth of 32 percent, outpacing the average industry growth rate of 22 percent. This was Nissan Philippines’s best growth in a decade, said NPI president and managing director Antonio Zara, with figures cited from a report from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc.

NPI was established in March 2014 after merging the two existing Nissan distributors, and has since then become the sole national sales company of Nissan in the Philippines responsible for brand marketing and sales strategy, and dealer operations in the local market.

Based on its sales figures, the leading volume contributor was its passenger van Urvan, followed by the Almera, and augmented by its global compact sedan model, the new Sylphy.

Other contributors in its sales growth were attributed to the new Altima and all-new X-Trail models, and recent introduction of the all-new NP300 Navara pickup truck.

Breaking 1,000-unit mark

Last March was also the first time the new joint venture broke the 1,000-unit mark for the month. “This makes March 2015 an important month for us, seeing how our improved teamwork has led to making this first quarter all the more meaningful as a success,” Zara said.

“We at NPI are proud to say that we reached this important highlight in our corporate history through a combination of factors,” Zara said. “We attribute this to our exciting product lineup, as well as our improved aftersales services as demonstrated by topping the JD Power Philippines Customer Service Index  in 2014,” he added. “We owe this victory to our valued customers who choose Nissan as their preferred brand of choice.”

“We are finally picking up traction since we formed the joint venture. As you know, we only formed the joint venture in April last year and we were building up the foundation. In 2015, first quarter was the best quarter in 10 years for Nissan Philippines with growth of over 30 percent quarter-on-quarter. We sustained the momentum in April, and we grew by more than 40 percent,” he said.

When asked how is Nissan doing with its new Navara pickup, Zara explained: “The Navara is doing very well now. I said last year that we will not end there. I was very proud to announce earlier tonight that this June, we will launch the all-new Nissan NV350 Urvan. The Urvan has always been a top volume maker for Nissan, that’s why we are very excited about this next generation Urvan which will again redefine the standards for passenger vans.”

‘Pickup wars’ not over

He further added that the “pickup wars” is not yet over. “That’s still ongoing, and yes, we would like to challenge the competitors to bring out their best vans. But in the end, it’s not about the ‘wars’ you guys [in the media] normally would quote but it’s really about wanting to bring the best that we can offer. We feel it’s our responsibility, together with the other brands, to do so.”

Zara is positioning Nissan for a banner year in 2015 with the company laying a clear-cut strategy to aggressively launch new vehicle models and increase its dealer network nationwide.

On March 25, in one whole day, NPI signed up six dealerships during a signing ceremony held at Holiday Inn Suites, Makati.

Slated to open starting this December, these six new dealerships will be located in Sucat, Parañaque; Sta. Rosa, Laguna; Baliuag, Bulacan; La Paz, Iloilo; Zamboanga; and Marilao, Bulacan.

“Getting not just one or two, but six new dealerships to sign up with us all in one day is positive proof that our credo of doing things differently works,” Zara said. This makes the current dealership count to a total of 34 nationwide.