A MORE aggressive Nissan Philippines Inc. has doubled its sales target this year, with the company looking at selling 14,000 vehicles, a company official said.
In her visit to Cebu last Friday, Nissan Philippines Area Sales Manager Gemma A. Hernandez said the target will be supported by the growing number of dealerships.
There are 28 Nissan dealers in the country today.
At least 11 more dealers will be added to bring the total number of dealerships to 39 within fiscal year 2015 (April 2015 to March 2016), Hernandez said.
The company is also looking to open two more dealerships in Cebu within fiscal year 2015 and 2016. In Visayas alone, Hernandez said there are six dealers. Two are in Iloilo, and one each in Cebu, Bacolod, Tacloban and Bohol.
“We are moving up. I think we (Nissan) are seventh (rank in terms of market share),” said Nissan Cebu Distributors Inc. General Manager Julie Sy Tio.
A report from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) showed Nissan Philippines Inc. (NPI) registering a first quarter growth of 32 percent.
This is better than the industry performance of 22 percent for the same time period, CAMPI added.
According to NPI officials, its first quarter performance this year has been reported to be “the best in Nissan’s sales history.”
Since NPI was established in 2013, it has already launched five new cars. It first
launched the Sylphy and Altima in March 2014, followed by the third-generation X-Trail, the NP300 Navara pickup, and the recently announced NV350 Urvan.
Due this week
Tio said the new Urvan will be shipped to Cebu this week and will be available for purchase in Cebu on July 1. Nissan Cebu, which maintains a showroom and service center in Maguikay in Mandaue City, is already accepting bookings.
In a previous interview, NPI President and Managing Director Antonio Zara said the company has laid out a strategy to achieve at least 40 percent sales growth.
Within fiscal year 2015, Hernandez said the company will be launching two more models.
The company is also working on GT Academy, an international virtual-to-reality race.
It was first launched by Nissan and PlayStation in Europe in 2008 and brought to the Philippines last April.
The competition finds the best Gran Turismo virtual players across participating countries by testing their skills in live events.
In Cebu, Nissan maintains a GT Academy pod in SM City Cebu where interested players can try it for free within the week.
The Top 20 gamers in the country, as determined by time trials, will then move to the national finals in July where the top six players will compete with the best Gran Turismo players across Asia.
Winners will then advance to the final stage, which will be held in Europe.