2011 was a year of mixed results for the Nissan brand and its two distributors-Universal Motors Corp. (UMC) for commercial vehicles and Nissan Motor Philippines Inc. (NMPI) for passenger cars. UMC sold 5,222 units, down 6.9 percent from the previous year. NMPI registered 2,425 unit sales, a 3.4 percent increase.
UMC continued its Ur Van, Ur Business (UVUB) program. UVUB promotes the use of its Urvan utility vehicle as a vital component in business, and thus promote entrepreneurship as a means for Filipinos to improve their quality of life. In May 2011, the program celebrated five years of helping 5,600 families and creating 7,000 direct jobs for the customers that UMC calls “The Urvanites.” UMC also launched a new variant of its Navara pickup called the Techxtreme.
UMC and NMPI focused on improving customer satisfaction. J.D. Power Asia Pacific ranked the highest in the 2011 Philippine Sales Satisfaction Index Study. Nissan showed a marked improvement in terms of customer service and performed particularly well in the delivery process and salesperson factors. Nissan Cebu opened a branch in Bohol.
The two Nissan distributors also joined forces to bring a contingent of writers to the biennial Tokyo Motor Show. Led by CEO Carlos Ghosn and COO Toshiyuki Shiga, Nissan showed its vision of a zero emission future, centered around electric vehicles. The Leaf, the world’s first “affordable” all-electric vehicle, was in prominent display, including an intriguing Nismo racing variant. As the Nissan exhibit highlighted, Nissan has a strong lineup of vehicles in the international market, including practical and interesting cars like the March, Cube, and Juke. We hope that the distributors see fit to introduce more interesting models like these in the near future. If these vehicles are launched in the Philippine market, we expect that Nissan will be able to tap into its massive potential.