The automotive conglomerate Nissan, with headquarters in Tokyo was established in 1933 and has built strong brands worldwide in the passenger car, forklifts, business sedan/vans and truck categories. Its principal operations include Nissan North America Incorporated, the head quarters for North American sales and manufacture of vehicle and auto parts which was set up in September 1960 in Tennessee, USA and Nissan Europe SAS, headquarter for European sales and manufacture which was established in November 2002 in France.
Global retail sales volume and net sales continue to show a robust increasing trend. Retail sales for the financial year 2007 were 3.77 million units, an increase of 8%over FY 2006. Net consolidated revenue for the FY 2007 was 10.824 trillion yen, up 11.6% in comparison to 2006. Consolidated operating profit at 90 billion yen was up by 4.7% vis-à-vis 2006.
Nissan has a consolidated employee strength of 186336 as at 31st March 2007. Its paid in capital as at 31st March 2007 is 605813 million Yen. Today, the group through its Nissan 180 and Nissan Value Up plan (2005-2007) has restored its profitability and built a solid foundation from which higher growth can be expected.
The new growth plan, which is called Nissan GT 2012, emphasises growth (G) and trust (T). The plan includes three commitments (i) quality leadership (ii) zero emission vehicle leadership (iii) achieve 5% revenue growth on average over the five years of the plan. Revenue growth will be supported by a product plan which will launch 60 new models by fiscal year 2012, an average of one new model a month for the next five years. Two-thirds will replace existing models, and one-third will expand the group’s global offer. The group plans to launch a steady line of passenger vehicles with a global Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) acceleration in 2010. By fiscal year 2012, Nissan plans to be in nearly every market, in nearly every segment.
Nissan's growth in recent years has been led by excellent results in emerging markets like China and South America. Outside its domestic market, where Nissan currently controls 13.6% of the market share, China is the biggest market with 22% of market share. In Russia the company plans to double its sales volume by 2012 which will be enhanced by Nissan’s entry into the Russian LCV market. As part of it’s commitment to market expansion in the GT 2012 plan, Nissan is all set to enter the vibrant Indian and Brazilian markets where it hopes to emerge as a leading brand by 2012.
Its global growth strategy has led to an expansion of regional facilities and expansion in Greenfield projects worldwide. They include a new engine plant in the Huada district of Guangzhou in China, an auto export base in Bangkok, a new production facility in St Petersburg Russia and a new plant in Chennai India in alliance with Renault
In the fiscal year 2007, Nissan launched 11 all-new models worldwide including the GT-R supercar, Rogue and Infiniti G37 Coupe, Pino Minicar, Frontier Navara for the Thai market, Fuga-luxury sedan for the domestic market and Livina for the Chinese market.
The GT 2012 business plan sets out multiple commitments from Nissan. They include the developing of a safer, environmentally friendly car, becoming a market leader in the zero emission car segment and adopting a proactive approach while dealing with various global environmental issues. The company has made considerable investments in R&D, skills and production facilities and is now ready to go the distance.
