Nissan is undoubtedly one of the success stories of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Once the most conservative of all the Japanese automakers, Nissan has reinvented itself over recent years, dropping dull-but-worthy repmobiles such as Almera and Primera in favour of funky crossovers such as Qashqai and Juke. And at the same time, Nissan has made a serious play for ‘green’ sales with the battery-electric LEAF.

Strategic objectives

Nissan’s mid-term strategy is to become the largest Asian brand by volume in Europe by 2016, as defined by a 2011 plan called “Nissan Power 88”. Already Nissan is the top Asian brand in several key markets including the UK, Spain, France and Italy.

Nissan Power 88 is a six-year business plan that will “accelerate the company's growth across new markets and segments”, the company announced at the time. By the end of fiscal 2016, Nissan aims to achieve a global market share of 8% and increase its corporate operating profit to a sustainable 8%.

An extended new product plan will deliver, on average, an all-new vehicle every six weeks for six years. The company's global portfolio will have 66 vehicles and will cover 92% of all markets and segments. The emphasis on sustainable mobility will continue, encompassing zero-emission vehicles and low-emission technologies. Cumulative electric vehicle sales for the Renault-Nissan Alliance will reach 1.5m units.

“Nissan Power 88 is the roadmap for our company's profitable growth,” said president and CEO Carlos Ghosn. “We will accelerate our growth, bringing more innovation and excitement to our products and services as well as cleaner, more affordable cars for everyone around the world, in line with the energy and environmental challenges of the 21st century.” 

The automaker will increase investments in its brands and retail networks to enhance its customers' entire ownership experience. It currently has 6,000 major points of sales globally; the retail network will expand to 7,500 in the midterm plan period. Business expansion will focus on growth markets and further developing the company's Infiniti and light commercial businesses. Nissan claimed that, by 2016, it would be the world's leading light commercial vehicle manufacturer.

In 2012, Nissan will have a production capacity of 1.2m units in China. China has become – and will continue to be – its largest single global market and it aims for a 10% share. The automaker will also increase its presence in Brazil, Russia and India, as well as in the next wave of emerging markets. In Brazil, Nissan will build a new plant, with a capacity of 200,000 units as a first step. 

Meanwhile, the Infiniti premium brand will grow from 2010 sales of 150,000 vehicles to 10% of global market share among luxury brand segments, a level today that would represent 500,000 vehicles. Infiniti will be present in over 70 markets with a product range of at least 10 vehicles.

European sales growth

The realignment of the range is driving this ambition. In 2011, despite the ongoing recession, Nissan posted record European sales of 695,702 units, 140,000 more than its previous 2010 best, and a rise of 25.4%. Major year-on-year gains were made in the UK, where sales rose 11% to 107,000 units, as well as France (+31%), Germany (+18%) and Italy (+16%).

Nissan out-sold its 2010 total in every month of 2011, and ended the year with a market share of 3.7%, up from 3.1% in 2010 – an achievement that was all the more remarkable as it was achieved in a year when much of the Japanese auto industry faced serious disruptions as a result of the earthquake and tsunami.

Nissan managed to avoid the worst of the effects of the disaster because it has localised the production of a large proportion of its European models. Exports from Japan account for a relatively small percentage of sales, and continue to fall, dropping 8.6% year-on-year in the first half of 2012 to just 37,186 units.

Paul Willcox, senior vice president sales & marketing in Europe, said: “Nissan produces around 70% of vehicles sold within the region at plants in the UK, Spain and Russia. This includes the 430,000 Qashqais and Jukes manufactured at our plant in Sunderland in 2011.”

Sunderland, opened in 1986, was the first Japanese transplant in Europe, and has grown to become one of Europe’s largest car factories, achieving a record output of 480,485 units in 2011, its 25th Anniversary.

Qashqai, and the seven-seat Qashqai +2, accounted for more than 250,000 sales, with Juke contributing more than 123,000 sales in its first full year of production. The Qashqai line is running on a 24-hour basis.

Other models that performed strongly included new Micra, with 75,000 sales, and the X-Trail SUV, whose sales trebled in 2011 to 33,000 units. The Navara pick-up, manufactured at Nissan’s Barcelona plant, increased sales by 50% to 23,000 units, and the NV200 van, also built in Spain, achieved more than 17,500 sales.

Russia is now Nissan’s top market in Europe, and Nissan is the top-selling Japanese manufacturer in the country. Sales in 2011 increased by a massive 75% on 2010 – or nearly 60,000 units. Nissan now holds around 5.5% of the overall Russian market and in May launched a third production shift at its plant in St Petersburg to support the introduction of the Murano SUV, the plant’s third model.

Despite these positive results, Renault-Nissan chairman, Carlos Ghosn, believes Europe’s recovery will be slow. In a Bloomberg Television interview, he said Nissan was “preparing for many mediocre years” in Europe, thanks to a combination of a depressed market and European overcapacity. Nissan will manage its capacity in the region to match demand, Ghosn said.

Global sales

Nissan’s success in 2011 was not just confined to Europe. The company posted record global sales of 4.67 million units in 2011, up 14.4% compared to 2010, and accounting for 58% of Renault-Nissan Alliance sales. The success has continued into 2012, with first-half global sales up 16.7% year-on-year to 2.63m units, marking an all-time record for the January-June period.

China is now Nissan’s largest market, and the company posted record sales in 2011 of 1,247,738 units, a 21.9% increase over 2010, led by strong sales of the Sunny and Teana sedans. Despite a slowdown in growth this year, Nissan’s Chinese sales increased 14% year-on-year to 678,007 units, marking an all-time record for the January-June period.

In the Americas, Nissan reported record sales of 1,561,230 units for Nissan and Infiniti brand vehicles throughout North, Central and South America, up 17.2% compared with the previous year. The Nissan brand alone gained a market share of 7.5%, up 0.6 percentage points, becoming the number two Asian automotive brand in the region.

 The US, Mexico and Brazil posted the largest single-country gains. Sales in the US reached a record 1,042,534 units, up 14.7% compared with 2010. Market share in the US grew to 8.2%, led by the Versa compact car and the Rogue crossover. The Altima sedan also continues to rank among the best-selling vehicles in the country.

In Mexico, where Nissan will open a third plant in 2013 to support its rapid growth across the Americas, sales grew 18.6% while its market share grew to a record 24.8%. In Brazil, where Nissan plans to build its first plant in Resende in 2014, Nissan's sales nearly doubled to 67,097 units. Nissan was Brazil's fastest-growing automotive brand in 2011.

Sales in regions outside Japan, China, Europe and the Americas increased 25.4% year-on-year to 470,967 in the first half of 2012, mainly due to increased demand in Brazil, Thailand and India. Production in other regions, mainly India, Indonesia, South Africa and Thailand, saw an overall increase of 19.5% year-on-year to 283,269 units in the January-June 2012 period.

Indeed, Ghosn said growth from Southeast Asia and the US would be among the main drivers behind Nissan’s plans to build more than 5 million cars in 2012. “Myanmar may be the star of future, along with Indonesia and Vietnam,” he said.

The only recent black spot has been Nissan’s home market of Japan, where the effects of the earthquake meant sales slipped 8.4% year-on-year to 591,312 units, in a market that shrank 15%. Nissan's market share climbed one percentage point to 14%. Nissan Serena was the best-selling minivan in the country with 84,359 units sold.

However, there has been a recovery in Japan throughout 2012, helped by a government subsidy programme for environmentally friendly vehicles. Nissan sold 366,569 units in Japan, up 31.1% year-on-year, mainly due to increased demand for Juke, Serena and Note, all of which qualify for the government subsidies.

Exports from Japan are also on the rise. In the first half of 2012, Nissan exports in January-June increased 19.4% year-on-year to 333,078 units. 

European fleet sales

Nissan has grown its European fleet sales steadily in recent years, on the back of increased European production and a broader light commercial vehicle range. Nissan currently has around a 4% market share in the overall European fleet sector, largely due to strong sales of locally built Juke, Qashqai and Note ranges.

Even so, Nissan is still below the European average in terms of the fleet component of its overall sales. In 2011, fleet accounted for just over 30% of Nissan’s European total, against an average for all manufacturers of around 40%. The high retail content is no bad thing, but Nissan does want more fleet business, and admits to being shy of making a major fleet play in the past.

Fleet sales are particularly strong in the UK, where British-built Nissan models are going down well with company car drivers. Fleet sales increased by 9% in the first 10 months of 2012 to 43,918 units, giving Nissan a 5% share of the UK fleet market. Fleet sales accounted for around 47% of Nissan’s total UK sales in the period – well above its European average.

The Qashqai was Nissan’s best UK fleet seller at 19,309 units, with Juke more than doubling sales year on year to 8,965 units. Qashqai+2 and Note sold 4,965 and 6,005 units respectively to fleets, and 89% of Nissan’s fleet volume is built in the UK.  Year-to-date fleet sales of LEAF have more than doubled in 2012 to 458 units.

In Europe, Nissan has a two-tier fleet sales organisation. A European fleet office is located in Paris, and there are major Regional Business Units (RBU), in France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Russia and the UK, as well as smaller offices in some other countries. Each of those RBUs has a fleet operation within its organisation.

First major alliance fleet deal

Renault and Nissan fleet business has tended to be conducted separately, but an overall Alliance fleet department has been established, and this achieved its first major success in July, with the announcement that Renault-Nissan would provide 15,000 vehicles in an exclusive fleet contract with the Paris-based food company Danone. The first-of-its-kind deal for the Alliance provides a full range of vehicles to Danone in 25 countries for at least five years.

Danone said it selected the Renault-Nissan Alliance for its wide product line-up, its experienced fleet sales and services organisation and its global sales footprint, which matches that of Danone. Under the terms of the deal, Danone fleet managers can select vehicles from any of the four brands under the Alliance: Renault, Nissan, Dacia and Infiniti. The deal encompasses passenger cars and commercial vehicles, including electric models. The contract will last until 2017, and Danone said the highest volumes would be in Russia, Mexico and France.

LEAF gains momentum

Renault may have made the biggest play for the battery-electric car market, with a range of four vehicles, but Nissan got to market first with the LEAF hatchback, launched in December 2012. And despite having to resort to price cuts, Nissan is claiming a success with the car, which is now the best-selling electric vehicle ever.

Nissan sold more than 42,000 Nissan LEAFs in just under two years, and the car won the World Car of the Year, Japan Car of the Year and European Car of the Year awards.

Production of LEAF is due to start at Nissan’s Sunderland plant in the UK in early 2013, while production of the e-NV200 van will start in Barcelona in late 2013 for global distribution. Lithium-ion batteries will also be made in Europe for the use of both Nissan and Renault.

Slowly, the electric vehicle movement is gaining momentum in Europe. Between March and September 2012, the number of Nissan dealers selling the LEAF has grown to 700 in 18 markets, compared to just 110 earlier in 2011. Around 1,800 units were sold in Europe in 2011, but in the first nine months of 2012, more than 3,000 have been sold, representing around 20% of the EV market. In EV-friendly Norway, LEAF is among the top 15 best selling new cars with more than 2,000 registered since sales began in November 2011.

Among fleet deals is a supply contract with daily rental company Europcar, in two of Europe’s busiest capitals, London and Paris, giving potential customers the chance to rent a Nissan LEAF and evaluate it in real world conditions to see if it is suitable for their needs.

Zero-emissions LCVs

Nissan sees the light commercial vehicle market as a way of driving growth in the EV sector. At the Hanover CV show in September 2012, Nissan unveiled a range of EV initiatives in the van market, including an electric compact panel van, the second of four electric vehicles promised by 2014.

To be built for global markets exclusively at Nissan’s plant in Barcelona, Spain, the e-NV200 combines the powertrain of the Nissan LEAF with the NV200 compact panel van. Production will start in late 2013, and prototypes are currently undergoing tests with large fleet operators worldwide.

These include AEON Retail, FedEx Express and British Gas in Japan and Europe, and Coca-Cola Central Japan, which is using an e-NV200 as a regional sales vehicle in Yokohama, evaluating its performance and practical usability against conventional internal combustion-engined vehicles. One of the biggest test programmes is with FedEx Express, which has been using the e-NV200 in London since December 2011 and is now expanding the programme to Japan. FedEx Express currently operates 130 all-electric vehicles worldwide, making the company an ideal collaborator for this initiative.

Nissan is using the feedback from the field-testing to refine and enhance the final development of e-NV200. The e-NV200 offers the same carrying capacity as the conventionally powered NV200, while its running gear includes Quick Charging technology, which recharges its battery to 80% capacity in just 30 minutes.

At Hanover, Nissan showed two other battery-powered concept vehicles. The e-NT400 Cabstar Concept, uses EV technology to create a large zero-emission light truck capable of entering areas denied to conventionally-powered LCVs, while another Cabstar prototype, the Cabstar e-Refrigerator, uses a lithium-ion battery and electric motor to drive the vehicle’s chilled and refrigerated compartments, reducing CO2 and noise emissions by taking over the task normally performed by the truck's diesel engine.

EV infrastructure

As part of its EV initiative, Nissan is driving the installation of fast-charge infrastructure in Europe. There is now almost double the number of conventional charging points in Europe compared to a year ago, with a total close to 15,000 across Europe. And earlier this year, Nissan announced a plan to create a network of 400 DC Quick Chargers across Europe, and unveiled the first of these in France and the Netherlands.

The 400 chargers will be manufactured and donated free by Nissan. The direct current units will be able to charge up any ChAdeMO compliant electric vehicle, such as the Nissan LEAF, to around 80% capacity in 30 minutes.

In the Netherlands, the charger forms the first part of a 40-unit network, which will mean the majority of Dutch motorists will be within 30km of a Quick Charger, anywhere in the country. The first Nissan unit is being installed on a commercial office estate, which is close to a strategic motorway junction in the central town of Amersfoort.

The first French Quick Charger has been installed at a Cora supermarket, in the town of Haguenau, which will be the first of the six-charger network for the Alsace region – selected for its commitment to electric vehicles and strong government financial incentives to choose zero emission cars. In total France will install 40 Quick Chargers across the country, with details of other locations to be revealed in the coming months. Around 30 Nissan dealerships are already equipped with DC charging facilities in the UK, which are available for Nissan LEAF drivers to use free of charge.

Oliver Paturet, general manager of Zero Emission Strategy for Nissan, said: “The installation of these first ChAdeMO compliant Quick Chargers is an important moment for zero emission mobility in Europe. In the coming months we will reveal our plans for inter-country, national and regional quick charging networks.”

Nissan hopes to accelerate the development of an established electric vehicle infrastructure across the whole of Europe, hoping to have thousands of Quick Chargers installed by the end of 2012 and tens of thousands by 2015.

Nissan's Quick Charger is a Direct Current design that conforms to the ChAdeMO charging standard. It has been designed and engineered by Nissan to be smaller and cheaper than existing units and is fully approved to assist widespread installation. This charger can be made compatible with Renault's AC 43kW fast charging system, and both systems will be offered together for future network expansion.

Infiniti expansion

Nissan’s luxury car brand, Infiniti, was launched in the US in 1988, but has only been on sale in Europe since 2008, with a range of up-market saloons and SUVs. So far around 4,000 cars have been sold across Europe through a limited dealer network, concentrating on large cities.

However, in 2011 it was announced that Infiniti would increase its sales massively as a result of the tie-in between Renault-Nissan and Mercedes-Benz, which will supply four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines, as well as its A/B-class platform. This will allow Infiniti to enter new markets and offer smaller and less expensive models, including a smaller hatchback to compete with the Audi A3.

Meanwhile, Infiniti has ended a feasibility study of third party manufacturing with MagnaSteyr of a ‘a new compact premium vehicle’ and said it was ‘moving ahead with plans’ for a scheduled launch in 2015 of a model it would make ‘in-house’ in an as yet unnamed European factory.

“Infiniti intends to manufacture the vehicle in-house in a European production plant. The company will announce a production location and more product details closer to the start of production,” the automaker said in a statement.

“Infiniti still intends for the all-new compact premium vehicle to share a platform developed with Mercedes. The expanding partnership between the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler, which began in 2010, includes powertrain and platform sharing, joint development of fuel-efficient vehicles and other projects worldwide. All design, engineering and development work continues on schedule.” Infiniti models are also likely to be built in China and India in future, Nissan has revealed.