Regional head Cherfan projects Nissan to sell 174,000 units in 2013
Nissan Middle East has projected slower sales growth this year as compared to the previous year but more than the double the industry average growth rate.
Addressing a press conference in Dubai today, Samir Cherfan, Managing Director of Nissan Middle East, said the Japanese automobile giant recorded 26.2 per cent rise in sales in 2012 financial year ended on March 31, 2013, but projected a minimum of 11.1 per cent rise in sales for Nissan as compared to five per cent for the automobile industry in the region.
Cherfan projected that Nissan would sell more than 174,000 units in the region in 2013 financial year as compared to 157,000 vehicles sold in the previous financial year.
He said recovery in 2012 sales was exceptional and big jump in sales growth was mainly due to big dent in sales in the aftermath of tsunami in Japan in the previous year.
In 2012, Nissan launched a new model almost every two months in the Middle East, he said.
"These new models played their part in our strong performance this year but there were also powerful market forces driving growth. Most significant of those was the removal of the supply constraints experienced in 2011, caused by natural disasters negatively impacting production of Japanese automotive manufacturers. Nissan recovered more rapidly than its competitors due to immediate implementation of counter measures but, inevitably, this did constrain supply to the market.
"In 2012 these headwinds passed and, in combination with positive economic conditions across the Middle East, led to higher growth in the automotive market. While we forecast a continued expansion in FY2013, with total sales again rising, the rate will be linked to organic growth levels," Samir added.
Nissan launched five models in the region last year. Samir projected that Nissan Middle East market share across the region to be 15.2 per cent.
"With new launches in all main segments, including Sentra, Sunny, Altima, Pathfinder and Patrol, Nissan seems geared to push sales high. At the same time, they face tough competition from Hyundai which has sold 300,000 units last year," said Hassan Siddiqi, Business Head at YallaMotor.
Nissan said new models introduced in 2012 are expected to play a major part in increasing market share.
Its B/C segment was reinforced with the introduction of an all-new name to arguably the most competitive of segments, the Nissan Sentra small-sedan. In the first 50 days of its availability, nearly 1,500 Sentras were sold, reinforcing Nissan's position as segment leader.
Nissan will now use the strong initial response from the region's car buyers as a platform on which to build towards an ambitious target of 25,000 Sentra sales per year in the GCC region.
Sales of Nissan's B/C segment nameplates, Nissan Sunny also produced encouraging results in 2012. Sales jumped 50 per cent during the first three quarters compared with the same period in 2011 resulting in 18,000 units sold.
Nissan Patrol witnessed its most successful year in the Gulf since launch with a staggering 66 per cent increase in sales - far outstripping the segment average increase of 24 per cent. In total more than 14,000 units were sold across the region cementing its authority in the SUV segment with a market share of 22 per cent.
© Emirates 24|7 2013
