What I have is the following news release from Nissan Motor Philippines, which indicated the impending release of the new generation X-Trail by NEXT YEAR.
The new Suzuki Escudo, Rav4, D-compact (Taruna), and now this. It's gonna be a very, very exciting year ahead!
Read on!
NMPI to invest P100 M in expansion
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Nissan Motor Philippines Inc. (NMPI) is set to introduce 10 new car models, invest an additional P100 million to hit sales target of 8,000 units by 2007. The company also plans to assemble one car model here for exports to the ASEAN region even without the Automotive Exports Program (AEP).
This aggressive plan was revealed by NMPI president and chief executive officer Lehman Lee to reporters at yesterday’s launch of the first stage of the six-stage campaign of Nismo (Nissan Motor) in the country.
According to Lee, the ten new models form part of the 28 new vehicle models of Nissan Motor Co. of Japan that were identified for launching globally as part of the company’s value-up strategy supporting its N180 program, which is to hit global sales target of additional 4.2 million units, zero debt and 8 percent operating margin by 2007.
By next year, Lee said there would be three models to be introduced locally. These are the new generation of X-Trail, two cars with engine displacements of 1.8 liter and 2 liter, and a multi-purpose vehicle to be assembled here on completely knocked down (CKD) packs.
There will also be new models to be introduced here but imported as completely built-up (CBU) packs like the new generation Cefiro that will be imported from Thailand. Another brand Keanna is also expected to be launched locally.
It will also introduce Murano and a 3.5 liter sports utility vehicle from the U.S. Murano has a starting price in the U.S.at $38,198. Another car model with engine displacement of between 2 to 3 liter may be imported from CBU from Japan.
Lee said that the introduction of new models, especially those to be assembled here on CKD basis, will require an additional investments of P100 million from the annual investments of P40 million.
Lee, however, said all these plans would be boosted if automotive tariffs would go down as proposed under the still ongoing negotiations under the Japan Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).
For this year, NMPI is targeting lower sales of 5,500 units from last year’s 5,800 unit actual sales because of the dampening impact of the impending implementation of expanded value added tax.
"We were doing good in the first semester this year but not in the second half because the EVAT is scaring buyers," Lee said.
He also cited other factors that are dampening local sales including political instability and high fuel prices.
At present, the planned CBU export is still under study.
Lee said the 4.2 million unit additional sales by 2008 under its value up campaign is paving the way for an opportunity by NMPI to export CBU packs.
"That plan is underway even without the AEP," Lee said.
For now, Lee said, NMPI is prevented from doing so because the local parts suppliers are limited to only 55 to 60 automotive parts.
Comparatively, Thailand has a very developed parts manufacturing industry wherein 95 to 98 parts of a motor vehicle can be sourced locally.
At present, only X-Trail and Sentra are assembled locally. X-Trail accounts for the bulk of its sales being the number two in the sports utility vehicle segment.
