NISSAN Philippines Inc. (NPI) is hard-pressed to jack up the utilization rate of its assembly plant in Laguna as it has stopped building up the Urvan commercial vehicles locally.
Antonio Zara, NPI president and managing director, said in an interview that the unused capacity of the facility in Sta. Rosa—which could assemble 30,000 units yearly—was at least 90 percent.
Zara said the Urvan would now be imported completely built from Japan because this was more economically sound, and that the last knocked-down kits had already been assembled.
This means the factory is now processing just about 2,000 units of the Almera sedan, as well as an “insignificant” number of the Patrol sports utility vehicle.
“The government must consider how to craft the best (motor vehicle industry) road map,” Zara said. “With the right incentive, we intend to maximize our unused capacity.”
Takao Katagiri, executive vice president of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., said the Nissan group was striving to expand its market—in Asia in general and in the Philippines in particular—to double digit levels within the medium term.
At present, the company’s share in the Philippine automotive market was placed at only 3.6 percent.
“We are determined to grow in this market because we see the potential,” Katagiri said.
Also, NPI has signed up partners for 10 new dealerships in a bid to expand its operations nationwide as it continually rebuilds the brand in the country.
Zara said the new stores would beef up the company’s existing 28 dealerships.
“Of these 10, nine will be outside Metro Manila,” Zara said. “It would take them a year from signing to build the facilities, but these new dealerships include ones in (the cities of) General Santos, Butuan and Zamboanga.”
For 2015, NPI has a goal of achieving a 40-percent jump in sales which, if achieved, would bring its market share closer to 4 percent.
In line with this, NPI is launching next month the all-new NV350 Urvan, a product line that has gained a strong following from consumers who use it for family purposes as well as for public transport.
“The new and improved NV350 Urvan will be the van of choice, perfect for entrepreneurs managing their businesses on weekdays and families spending quality time in recreational places on weekends,” Zara said.
He said the new Urvan would come with a new engine and new features, including air-conditioning vents all the way to the back row of seats.
Zara said the Urvan has been a driver of sales volume for Nissan in the Philippines, accounting four about half of unit sales.