Solid performance when industry gains 4.2 percent
Given a challenging set of circumstances, as were all Japanese car makers last year, Nissan forged ahead with a global gain of almost 16 percent in units sold year over year, from 4.185 million units to 4.845 million units. Strong global growth is a necessity if continued investment in the electric car business is going to continue to be a focus of the brand.
Just last week Nissan announced their leadership in Brazil as the premier Asian brand for the country. Carlos Ghosn, Nissan’s CEO has declared the strong pursuit of market share in developing global automotive markets such as Brazil, Russia, Indonesia and China. Establishing a strong presence in the development of these markets will provide a long term benefit to the brand in positioning Nissan as a leader. Early leadership could prove crucial to future profitability as has been shown in other markets and other industries.
Of note with this announcement is that global industry sales volumes have increased only 4.2 percent during this same time frame. As Nissan continues to build more regional production facilities in established and developing markets, the Yen conversion rates will become less of an issue for local profitability. Nissan currently enjoys higher net profit margins than both Toyota and Honda, which will help them in their quest to innovate with new electric and conventional vehicles.