Nissan PH confirms unification, new company to start in 2014

Nissan will soon announce the unification of its operations in the Philippines. The new company, Nissan Philippines Inc. (NPI), will begin formal operations in the first quarter of 2014. NPI will be 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 assembles and sells the utility vehicle range, such as the Patrol and Urvan, while NMPI sold passenger cars such as the Almera and Teana sedans. NMPI is majority owned by Taiwan’s Yulon group.

 

Under Nissan Philippines Inc., marketing, sales, and presumably car assembly, will all be under one company. This may also pave the way to more Nissan models making their way to the local market. There is likely pent-up demand for such cars like the Cube, Juke, Leaf electric car, and even sports cars like the 370Z and GT-R. (Ok, we admit—those are just our personal wish list of cars we’d like to see on the road.) This 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.

 

NPI was incorporated in September 2013, with operations to commence in first quarter of 2014.