Nissan has announced its medium term business plan for Africa, Middle East and India with an aim of turning over its fortunes. The Japanese automaker which is currently facing a global crisis is determined to become sustainable, financially stable and profitable by the end of 2023 fiscal year.
The Nissan 4-year business plan for Africa, Middle East and India aims to achieve sustainable growth by ‘rationalization’, ‘prioritization’ and ‘focus’. According to the company, the AMI region accounts for 10% of the global automotive market and has strong potential for growth in the coming years.
Nissan’s medium term strategy for this region involves focusing on developing core models and technologies. Maximizing synergies with its Alliance partners (Renault Group and Mitsubishi Motor Corp) to reduce costs will also be a significant part of the plan.
Without furnishing specific details, Nissan has confirmed that it will optimize regional portfolios by 20%. This could mean slow-selling products could be withdrawn from the market. As far as India is concerned, the future of Datsun has not been specifically addressed by this 4-year business plan. Nissan will also increase the cost competitiveness its plants in AMI region and seek to increase export volumes to achieve better capacity utilization. Additional opportunities will be explored to drive down fixed costs.
Nissan has announced that it will launch 8 new products in AMI region in the next 4 years with specific focus on SUVs and B-segment sedans that are profitable. India will receive a B-SUV but not likely to receive all the 8 products earmarked for the region.
The Nissan 4-year business plan for AMI region also talks about phased regional deployment of EV and connected vehicle technologies. The company will also undertake a digitization drive to enhance customer experience.
Speaking about the business plan, Nissan’s COO Ashwani Gupta, the company aims to improve its profitability in the region, especially in key markets including Gulf, South Africa and Egypt. While Nissan and its Alliance partners will have a clear leader-follower approach in key markets, in India both Renault and Nissan will have joint status.
The India-bound B-SUV Nissan is talking about is the sub-4m Magnite whose launch has been postponed to next year. The Hyundai Venue rival will be based on CMF-A+ modular platform and will be heavily localized in India. It will share majority of its components with the upcoming Renault Kiger which is already out testing in the country.