Droomers Weekly! (edition 180)

Droomers - "The People who care"

EDITION 180(2013/05/06)

“THE PEOPLE WHO CARE…”

Winners of
• 2012 Nissan Dealer of the year in Medium Dealer Category
• 2012 Nissan Customer Satisfaction Index Dealer of the year in Medium Dealer Category
• 2012 Nissan Aftersales Dealer of the year in Medium Dealer Category

WELCOME

Welcome to the weekly edition of Droomers Weekly your leading news and information source on Nissan, Droomers Nissan and the motor industry in general. Our objectives are to be informational, educational and relevant. We will also appreciate comments, complaints and suggestions and you can e-mail us at info@droomersnissan.co.za.

NISSAN STARTS 2013 FINANCIAL YEAR WITH A SOLID PERFORMANCE

Nissan South Africa has kicked off its 2013 financial year (April 2013 to March 2014) with an April 2013 performance which puts it firmly on track to meet its medium-term targets.

We have met our short-term targets despite Tiida now being well into its run-out phase and supply constraints on the perennially popular NP200 half-tonner. The latter sold 1348 units – well over forecast – to maintain a strong presence in the segment.

The most significant feature of the month was the exceptionally high percentage of total sales which came from the Nissan dealers, with 90,9 percent attributed to the 117-strong retail network. This is higher than the industry average and the highest percentage in 28 months.

The sterling work done at dealer level in April echoes that of March, and we hear your message loud and clear: give us more cars and we will sell them. Like Nissan South Africa, the Nissan dealer network is looking forward to a bumper 2013 financial year; all the necessary infrastructure is in place to meet the demand which will be created by new product introductions.

Since 2008 Nissan has doubled its market share, and in 2012 percent volumes by over 10 000 units versus 2011, to grow by 25.2 percent in a market which was up by 8.6 percent.

We’re proud to be making a positive contribution to Nissan’s Power 88 global plan, which is to claim eight percent of the market – or 8 million vehicles – by the end of March 2017. There is certainly growth in the years ahead and last year total industry volume was up by two percent to 80-million cars. However, it is interesting to note that the real growth lies in the developing markets – for example, Nissan sold more than a million cars in China last year.

Viewed in that context South Africa – and Africa – remains an important part of the overall picture, and our objective is to account for 11 percent of the Africa market by the end of Financial Year 2016.

RECORD P&A SALES IN APRIL

Nissan’s Parts and Accessories department achieved their highest monthly sales in March since 2003. This fantastic achievement equates to a 25% April YOY increase and an astounding 203% increase compared to April 2003. Not inflation nor price increases and car parc growth last year or the averages for the last 10 years have come close to double digits. The increase in Parts and Accessories sales revenue has come about mainly due to the volumes sold by our dealers – a wonderful achievement indeed and a proud record for our book of reality that the Nissan brand is growing exponentially in many areas of the business.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Nissan motor has named Daniel Kirchert, a 39-years old German national and former BMW executive in China, to head its Infiniti’s operations in the country as it seeks to expand production and dealerships in the world’s biggest auto market.

Kirchert’s intimate knowledge of the Chinese market and his proven track record in premium automotive brand management will be key as Infiniti embarks on its growth plan for China, said Johan de Nysshen, Infiniti’s South African-born president. Kirchert takes over from Allen Lu, who will take up a new post to oversee the Oceania and Asia regions, excluding China.

Nissan aims to more than triple its share of China’s luxury vehicle market to 10 percent by 2016. To do so, it plans to boost the number of Infiniti dealerships to 80 by 2014 from 60 now and to start producing its Q50 sedan and QX50 SUV models in China from next year.

One of Britain’s few economic bright spots – a 13 month run of increased car sales – may actually say more about the country’s problems than it does about its growth prospects. Much of the rise has been caused by a banking scandal, high fuel prices, erosion of savings and widening income inequality.

UK new-car registrations rose 7,4 percent to 606 000 in the first quarter. During that period there has been barely any economic growth in the UK and unemployment has averaged 7,9 percent.

The UK car sales growth is out of step with major European markets. Registrations in Germany fell 13 percent to 674 000 in the first quarter. Total EU volume was down 10 percent to 3 million vehicles.