How Nissan bucked the downward trend

Before leaving for a business trip to Japan last Monday, Ramesh Narasimhan—who was appointed president and managing director of Nissan Philippines, Inc. (NPI) only two years ago in April 2016—answered two questions emailed to him by Inquirer Motoring.

Inquirer: How was Nissan, per the Campi YTD 2018 sales report, able to post a 24.1 percent increase in variance, with 13,222 in total vehicle sales versus 10,651 in the 2017 same period?

Ramesh: Nissan is very proud to have achieved a phenomenal growth for the first half of 2018 versus the same period last year.

We credit this to the expansion of our robust dealer network, rollout of exciting programs, implementation of after sales services, and, of course, the strengthening of our product portfolio.

The strong performance of our vehicles, most especially of our core models like the Navara, Juke, Almera, and Urvan, have helped us grow in the first half of the year by 24 percent, and landed us among the top 5 automotive players in the country.

Inquirer: How was the Navara able to overtake perennial topnotcher Toyota Hilux in the pickup truck segment? Per Toyota Motor Philippines, 6,047 units of the Hilux were sold in the first semester. Per your sales report, NPI sold 6,777 units of the Navara in the same period this year.

Ramesh: The Nissan Navara has grown from strength to strength since its introduction to the market in 2015.

In its three years in the market, we have noticed a shift in our customers’ behavior in relation to the growing challenges they face on the road on a daily basis.

As a response to our customers’ needs, we introduced Nissan Intelligent Mobility to the Philippine market, with the goal of making driving safer, smarter and more convenient for our customers.

This technology can be found in the Nissan Navara through the around-view monitor, which allows customers to take on any driving challenges with confidence.

By giving our customers more options to suit their lifestyles and preferences, we have been able to sustain the strong performance of the Nissan Navara.

This, we believe, is one of the key factors in the rise of the Nissan Navara as one of the top performers in its segment.