“We are convinced of the great potential that South America has for the development of our businesses. We not only have a great brand but also an increasingly consolidated network of distributors and the right talent of our people to drive our growth. This new investment is a sign of our strong commitment to continue offering the best of our Japanese technology and engineering to customers,” said Ashwani Gupta, COO of Nissan Motor during the press conference.
This new investment has among its objectives the development of local engineering and automation processes and know-how; locations for new products; and evolve the infrastructure.
As the executives anticipated, the Resende Industrial Complex began operating a few days ago, with an additional shift. The new shift required months of preparation and training for the 578 new employees hired to expand production capacity. The objective is to reinforce the manufacture of the new Nissan Kicks SUV to meet the high demand of the local and export markets, as explained by the Japanese company.
In the last 10 years (at historical value), Nissan has invested US$1.7 million (3.45 billion reais) in Brazil. While the Resende plant, which will be 8 years old this April 15, reached the mark of 500,000 vehicles produced since the start of its operations in 2014. On the other hand, Nissan has already exported around 80,000 vehicles produced in this plant, to a total of eight countries in Latin America since it began its export operation in 2016.
Photo Caption...">This year Nissan is going to produce 86,000 units from Brazil, 76,000 will remain in the Brazilian market and 10,000 will be exported to Argentina. Photo: Nissan
“This year we are going to produce from Brazil, 86,000 units, 76,000 will remain in the Brazilian market and 10,000 will be exported to Argentina,” says Airton Cousseau, president of Nissan Mercosur and general director of Nissan Brazil.
The history of the Japanese company in Latin America begins in Brazil, where it has had a presence as a subsidiary for 20 years. “Then, we began to see the great potential of South America and that is how in 2015 we decided to open subsidiaries in Chile and Argentina. This decision is important because when subsidiaries are opened, long-term thinking is carried out, making projects for 10 years. A distributor, on the other hand, if he has problems or a country devalues, for example, he stops serving and imports again when the outlook improves. On the other hand, with direct presence, much higher levels of satisfaction can be offered due to this continuity”, explains Guy Rodríguez.
According to Rodríguez, this was key to achieving third place in the Chilean market share, with a 7% market share. “In Argentina, where recently we had 1.5% of the market share, today we have 5%. Given these good results, we decided, in 2018, to open our subsidiary in Peru. And we are doing very well there too, ”he summarizes.
matter of numbers
According to the latest report presented by the automaker, Nissan increased its sales by 19% in 2021, in South America, which represented an increase of 0.3 percentage points in its market share, compared to 2020.
While in the four subsidiaries that it has in the region they also registered significant results. Argentina reached 26% commercial growth compared to 2020, positioning itself in December with a 6.7% market share, the highest in the history of the brand in the country. In Brazil, the brand placed almost 65,000 units on the market, 6.4% more than the previous year, increasing its participation by 0.2 percentage points.
For its part, the Chilean market grew 36% in sales, while the subsidiary in Peru obtained an incredible 78.6% growth in sales and managed to close the year with a 5.6% market share, 1.2 percentage points up versus 2020.
Factory in Argentina
At the plant located in the Argentine province of Córdoba, a new production shift will also be implemented in the coming months. It is precisely in the Santa Isabel factory where the company produces its iconic Frontier pickup. It should be noted that this plant belongs to Renault and is part of an agreement that the Japanese firm signed with the French company to be able to use the infrastructure and experience of its employees.
Since 2015, the automaker has invested US$ 600 million in this plant and, additionally, announced, in 2020, an investment of US$ 130 million to renew the product offer.
With this new shift, which will start operating during the second half of this year, Nissan will be in a position to double its annual production from 25,000 to 50,000 units to meet not only the great growth in demand from Argentina, but also export markets. such as Brazil and the recently announced markets of Chile and Colombia, for which it will be produced under the Euro6 emissions regulations.
Likewise, 550 new jobs will be created to cover the implementation of the new shift.
Frontier production in Argentina began in 2018, the same year that it began its exports to Brazil, a market to which a total of 31,000 units have been delivered until the end of 2021.
“The pickup has not stopped its growth. In 2021 Nissan produced 18,461 units, 67% more than the previous year. In terms of sales, it reached a growth of 58% with a historical record of 11.2% of the segment in Argentina in the month of July. Brazil, for its part, was no exception. The pickup, manufactured in Argentina, has sold 11,821 units and managed to exceed its best results by 46%”, summarizes Rodríguez.
In addition, the executive assures that these projected investments will be fundamental for his company. “They will allow us to continue growing and demonstrating that Nissan has arrived in the region to become one of the three most relevant brands,” added the general director of Nissan South America.
Photo Caption...">The Resende Industrial Complex, in Brazil, began operating a few days ago, with an additional shift. Photo: Nissan.
Finance made in Chile
Within the framework of its event in Iguazú, Nissan made another important announcement for the regional market: the signing of an agreement for the creation of a financing company together with Tanner Servicios Financieros, which will be the first of its kind for the company in South America.
“Since we will own the financial institution, we will be able to program the standards of care that we want. It is that when it is financed through a bank we depend on its approval and its times. If we own the financial company we can take more risks, for example, we could allow sellers to directly approve the credit through a cell phone. Otherwise, we depend on the structure of a bank, on the interests of a bank and on the speed of a bank, to allocate credits”, explains Rodríguez.
Nissan currently has its own financial companies in only seven places in the world, including the United States and Mexico. “This would be our first financial institution in South America and it is great news for all our clients in Chile,” adds the Nissan executive, who details that the new company will come into operation once all the corresponding regulatory approvals have been obtained from the National Economic Prosecutor of Chile
challenges
Beyond the recent good results of the company, the panorama of the automotive industry still seems complicated if one takes into account the economic context of the region and the proliferation of Korean and Chinese brands that are doing battle in Latin America, with very competitive prices. .
And it is that year after year Asian companies take greater momentum both globally and regionally. According to Statista, China not only asserts itself as the world’s largest automobile producer, but also manages to maintain a notable margin with respect to the rest of the powers.
But far from being concerned, the general director of Nissan South America assures that the competition is good and welcome. “It makes us pay attention to what the customer wants and challenges us to go for more. In any case, I think that beyond the price, what seems very important to us is the shopping experience that a user has before, during and after the purchase”, he highlights.
According to Rodríguez, when buying a car, customers evaluate whether they will have help or a solution to any problem with the vehicle after the purchase. “In addition, another fundamental point is the resale value. When a company does not have a good after-sales area, the car is devalued because consumers do not want them. We work hard on customer satisfaction throughout the process and, above all, in after-sales. If someone has a Nissan car, they have the flexibility to be able to change it and have the peace of mind of being able to do the maintenance at our dealerships, at a competitive price. This has distinguished us in all the markets of the region and, fundamentally, in the Chilean market, which is very competitive”, he sums up.
Photo Caption...">Frontier production in Argentina began in 2018, the same year that it began its exports to Brazil.
Electrification is another of the big issues in the automotive industry and Latin America seems to be far behind when compared to Europe, the United States and some Asian countries. The first thing that the Nissan manager highlights in relation to this issue is that electric cars should be used in countries where the energy network is clean.
“If I have a car that does not generate emissions when I drive it, but then I get home and plug it in in a country that burns coal to give me electricity, it is not ecological. In South America, and especially in Brazil and Argentina where there is so much water and dams, the country’s energy matrix is cleaner. But, on the other hand, one of the challenges that these countries have is that they are very large, so when the user wants to move to another city, it is essential that there are stations to be able to charge the vehicles”, he highlights.
With these words, the executive shows that the great pending account of our region in terms of electrification: infrastructure. “It is essential for drivers to be able to move around the country with their electric car. This is the great challenge we have for the electric vehicle sector to continue growing in our region”, he concludes.
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