Nissan Power 88: Delivering the Full Potential of the Company

Carlos Ghosn
President and Chief Executive Officer

Nissan Power 88 is the roadmap for our company's profitable growth. As we accelerate our growth, we will bring more innovation and excitement to our products and services, as well as cleaner, more affordable cars for everyone around the world.

Nissan Power 88

Nissan's new mid-term plan builds upon all the lessons learned, synergies developed and investments made since 1999. Then, Nissan was lacking a shared vision and plagued by a lack of focus on the crucial needs of its stakeholders. Today, Nissan has a clear, global vision, an established presence in all major markets and segments, and the resources and the will to achieve its challenging objectives and accelerate Nissan's growth.
The name of our new mid-term plan?Nissan Power 88?underscores our engagement to achieve our corporate goals. "Power" derives its significance from the strengths and efforts we will apply to our brands and sales. Our commitment is to renew our focus on the overall customer experience, elevating Nissan's brand power and ensuring quality excellence for every person who buys a Nissan or Infiniti vehicle. The measurable rewards from achieving our plan are denoted by "88." We aim to achieve a global market share of 8% and increase our corporate operating profit margin to a sustainable 8%.
As a six-year plan, Nissan Power 88 allows the benefit of long-term strategic planning and continuity in operational decisions. The plan's midpoint allows us to define measurable and precise priorities for the next three years, as we chart our progress. The key contents of our plan focus on developing leadership and profitability in growth markets worldwide, actively cultivating sustainable mobility through electric vehicles and technologies that reduce emissions, and advancing mobility for all.

An Extensive Product Plan

Nissan's product plan will deliver one new vehicle every six weeks, on average, during the next six years. We are broadening our range of models for both the Nissan and Infiniti brands and eliminating product overlaps. More dedicated vehicles for key growth markets, such as China, Brazil, Russia, India and Indonesia, will allow personal mobility to become more accessible to those consumers who need it.
Nissan's global product lineup is already wide and deep. During Nissan Power 88, we will launch a total of 51 new models. In 1999, Nissan had 49 vehicles in its global product range, covering 77% of markets and segments. Today we have 64 vehicles covering 80% of markets and segments. By 2016, Nissan will have 66 Nissan and Infiniti vehicles in its global portfolio, covering 92% of segments and markets worldwide. We will consolidate some models and add others. Our plan will also include the development of more than 90 new advanced technologies, averaging 15 per year.
We will deliver a complete renewal of our popular global growth models.
We will widen our portfolio of Infiniti products.
We will address specific needs of Chinese customers by offering a broader range of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles, and we are firm in our resolve to reach 10% market share in China.
Our versatile V-platform was designed to deliver stylish, high-quality, affordable vehicles to the global marketplace. We will expand our V-platform range of global products to three models to help us reach more than 1 million units from this platform in 2016.
We are focusing more attention on the price-entry segment to serve a growing number of customers in the emerging markets, such as the BRICs and Indonesia.
Nissan's longstanding presence in the commercial vehicle segment is also gaining momentum. By fiscal 2016, Nissan will be the world's leading light commercial vehicle manufacturer.

Clear Strategic Direction

Nissan Power 88 identifies six strategies as levers we will use to achieve results according to plan.

Pillar 1: Brand power
To strengthen Nissan's brand power, we will expand our strengths in engineering and production to the sales, marketing and ownership experience. We will also raise the level of interaction with our customers to create a world-class standard of service that will help us build lasting relationships with every Nissan and Infiniti vehicle customer. We recognize that having a stronger brand will help close gaps with our top competitors in every measurable area, from revenue generation to overall opinion and purchase intention.

Pillar 2: Sales power
Sales power in the mid-term plan refers to fully grasping the needs of customers in each market and drastically raising sales volume and market share. Nissan currently has 6,000 major points of sales globally. We will expand our retail network to 7,500 outlets in the mid-term plan period.
Nissan is now the leading Japanese brand in China, Russia and Mexico and is on track to become the largest volume Asian brand in Europe by fiscal 2016. We are focusing our efforts to boost sales power in Japan and the United States, as well as in the ASEAN region.

Pillar 3: Enhancing quality
Nissan aims to make steady progress in improving product quality. During Nissan Power 88, our aim is to raise Nissan into the top group of global automakers in product quality and to elevate Infiniti to leadership status among peer luxury products by fiscal 2016.

Pillar 4: Zero-emission leadership
No other global automaker is as engaged in comprehensive activities to advance the entire system needed to make sustainable mobility a reality. Nissan is taking a leadership role in every aspect, from the development of batteries, chargers and a vehicle lineup to electric grid studies, battery recycling and the use of batteries for energy storage.
In 2011, Nissan will take the lead as the all-time volume leader in dedicated electric vehicle sales.
The Renault-Nissan Alliance is bringing seven more all-electric models to follow the successful launch of the Nissan LEAF. The Alliance intends to put 1.5 million electric vehicles on roads worldwide by 2016.
Nissan's emphasis on sustainable mobility also encompasses the range of low-carbon and lowemission technologies that support PURE DRIVE. For example, our proprietary hybrid technology will be tailored to future Nissan and Infiniti models, and our next-generation Xtronic Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) will increase fuel efficiency in future Nissan vehicles and maintain our status as the global leader in CVT technology.

Pillar 5: Business expansion
In 1999, Nissan's global market share was 4.6%. In 2010, Nissan achieved a record 5.8%. For fiscal 2016, we are targeting a global share of 8%, supported by a steady tempo of a new product launch on average every six weeks, a continued focus on growth markets, and the expansion of our Infiniti and light commercial vehicle businesses.
We will concentrate on increasing our presence in Brazil, India and Russia, as well as in the next wave of emerging markets, including the ASEAN 5?Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Nissan is the top Japanese car maker in China with a 6.2% market share, and China will continue to be Nissan's largest single global market into the plan. In 2012, we will have nearly doubled our production capacity, to 1.2 million units, and we will further increase our capacity to be in line with our goal of 10% market share. With our partner Dong Feng, we will continue to invest in more products and dealers and together build our new local brand, Venucia.
In North America, we will invest to expand our manufacturing capacity and retain our number-one position in Mexico, where Nissan leads the market with a 23.1% share.
In Brazil, where we have 1.2% market share, we target a minimum of 5% market share. We will build a new plant in Brazil, with a capacity of 200,000 units as a first step.
In Europe, Nissan will become the largest volume Asian brand. In Russia, we aim to increase Nissan's market share to 7% by 2016.
In India, we will add five new models to be built in the new Alliance plant in Chennai, and we will continue to expand our dealer network.
In ASEAN, Nissan Motor Thailand now serves as a strategic industrial base and export hub, and we are concentrating on growth in Indonesia. We are increasing the annual production capacity of our plant near Jakarta from 50,000 to 100,000 units to meet local demand. We aim to increase our share in the ASEAN 5 from 5% today to 15% by 2016.

Pillar 6: Cost leadership
Since we implemented the Nissan Revival Plan, we have been successful in reducing costs by 5% annually, due mainly to cross-functional monozukuri activities involving our supplier base. As our production footprint is increasingly global, we will maintain this pace by enhancing and deepening these activities in every Nissan production base across the regions, particularly in North America, China, India and Russia.
By increasing the use of carry-over/carry-across parts and systems, we will further boost overall platform efficiency. Platform and product synergies will be developed with all our partners, especially in small and medium vehicle segments. And with the additional growth in volume, we expect to realize greater cost efficiency. Evaluating not only purchased parts but also logistics and in-house costs, we have set an objective to reduce the total cost by 5% each year.
In Japan, we will raise our yen revenue through increased vehicle sales and reduce our yen-based costs through greater localization of parts supply to overseas plants. Enhancing our monozukuri activities in Japan and across the regions is key to our cost-reduction efforts. Through these activities, we will maintain our commitment to produce 1 million vehicles per year in Japan.

Leveraging Partner Strengths

Nissan's performance will be enhanced by leveraging 12 years of successful collaboration within the Renault-Nissan Alliance and its five established and productive partnerships. Through the Alliance's strategic cooperation with Daimler, Nissan will benefit from diesel engine and power train technologies, including a supply of Mercedes-Benz engines for Infiniti vehicles. With AvtoVAZ in Russia, the Alliance will take a 40% share in the Russian market, with investments in products and localized manufacturing and sourcing. Our partnership with Dong Feng is critical to our reaching 10% market share in China.
With Ashok-Leyland in India, Nissan has a partner in the development and manufacture of light commercial vehicles. And with Mitsubishi, we expanded the scope of our cooperation to develop a new mini car joint venture.

The Right Plan for Nissan's Future

In the global automotive industry, Nissan leads in zero-emission mobility, we lead in many emerging markets and we lead in the number of stable, productive partnerships we have established to improve our competitive position. Going forward, our aim is to enhance our brand power, sales power and the quality of our products and services and to continue to lead the way in advancing sustainable mobility and mobility for all. This is what Nissan Power 88 is about, and we are eager to get started and to deliver the full potential of this company.

Vision

NISSAN: Enriching people's lives

Mission

Nissan provides unique and innovative automotive products and services that deliver superior measurable values to all stakeholders in alliance with Renault.

Nissan achieves record sales, first quarter profit doubles

Nissan is doing well compared to its Japanese peers. It was announced that profits made a sharp jump in the first quarter of 2012 on the back of an aggressive push in fast-growing markets. The Yokohama-based company reported a net profit of 75.3 billion yen (US$943 million), up from 30.8 billion yen from 2011.
Global sales hit 4.8 million units in its 2011 financial year, a company record. For the full FY ending in March 2012, Nissan reported net income of 341.4 billion yen, a 7% rise on the previous year. Japan’s second-biggest carmaker outperformed rivals Honda and Toyota, both of which reported lower profits.

The past 12 months have been a tough one for Japanese carmakers. The tsunami and earthquake disaster in Japan disrupted production lines and caused power shortages. And just when they were back on steam, the massive floods that covered Thailand – a regional base for most Japanese brands – bogged them down again. Nissan bounced back faster from these setbacks to create today’s headline.
In addition to the natural disasters, a strong currency has hurt Japanese exporters as it makes their goods more expensive overseas and eats into the profits they bring back. “It is an even more encouraging performance given the headwinds created by natural disasters, an over-valued yen and uncertain global economic conditions,” underlined Nissan’s CEO Carlos Ghosn.
No resting on laurels – Nissan is predicting an even better showing for the current financial year. Global sales is forecasted at 5.35 million units, an increase of more than 10%, while net profits are predicted to hit 400 billion yen.

Nissan Juke-R goes into production, very limited run

Good news. The Nissan Juke-R will go into production. The bad news: Juke-R will be made in limited numbers on built-to-order basis. The price remains undisclosed but as my ex-Creative Director once told me, “If you need to ask for the price, you cannot afford it.”
There are three reasons why the Juke-R will be made; two of the reasons are high-profile and well-respected members of Dubai society. No hint on who the third person is. You see, the Juke-R made its debut in Dubai in January and have without a doubt caught the eye of some the nation’s elites.

Gareth Dunsmore, Marketing Product Manager for the Juke, said: “With such a strong reaction, and with three genuine offers on the table, we decided we had to make the car a reality. We can’t let down enthusiasts who are this keen to add to their collection of cars. The Juke-R has become something of a phenomenon and I’m enormously proud of the impact it has had. There will be more news to come on Juke later in the year.”
While the original Juke-R was based on the MY10 GT-R running gear, the production Juke-R will get the drivetrain and chassis of the MY12 GT-R. As a recap, the Juke-R has a 3.8 litre engine that produces 545 bhp and can reach a top speed of 160 mph, or about 257.5 km/h.

New Nissan Cima – the long wheelbase Infiniti M35h

The Cima luxury nameplate is back, after Nissan announced in 2010 that had stopped producing the Japan market Cima and President. No V8 engine this time around, and if the curvy looks are familiar, yes, it’s a long wheelbase version of the Infiniti M, or Nissan Fuga in Japan.
To go on sale in Japan later this month, the new fifth-generation Cima is based on the current Y51 Fuga/Infiniti M. The 5-Series rival’s 2,900 mm wheelbase has been extended by 150 mm to make the Cima, which is traditionally chauffeur driven.

The Cima’s “first-class hospitality” features soft, premium semi-aniline leather and wood grain panels coated with genuine silver powder, which gives them a mirror finish.
There’s also the “Forest AC” air con system, ventilated/heated seats and a powered ottoman-style legrest. A Bose 5.1 Surround Sound System for the rear seats with 16 strategically placed speakers does ICE duties. Seven-inch VGA displays are installed in the front seat headrests.

More comfort comes in the form of overhead reading lights for the two rear seats, rear illuminated vanity mirror, electrically operated rear sunshades, and switches in the rear center armrest for audio/air con/seats.
Rear door “auto closer” shuts the doors tight with minimum effort from the user, also applicable to the boot. Sound-absorbing tyres (first time for a Nissan) and Active Noise Control tuned for the rear cabin ensure silent progress.

Under the hood, the Cima uses the Infiniti M35h‘s “Intelligent Dual Clutch Control” (one-motor two-clutch) parallel hybrid system. It combines a VQ35HR V6 with 306 PS and 350 Nm with an electric motor with 68 PS/270 Nm. Connected to these are a lithium-ion battery and a seven-speed automatic gearbox.
The Cima achieves both a 20% improvement in fuel economy over 2015 standards and SU-LEV certification, emitting 75% less exhaust emissions than 2005 standards. This means that under the Japanese system, the Cima is fully exempt from automobile acquisition tax and automobile weight tax.

We will never get the Cima here, but the RM500k Infiniti M35h is pretty much the same car without the extra long wheelbase.

Nissan Leaf driven around the block – you can try it too!

We just got back from Edaran Tan Chong Motor’s Petaling Jaya showroom, where the Nissan Leaf pilot program was launched yesterday by Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of International Trade and Industry. The Leaf show is ongoing, and will be open to the public for test drives around the block this weekend
I stepped in and was immediately impressed with the Leaf’s cabin. It feels light and airy inside and the seats are comfortable, something one can also observe in the Sylphy and Latio. It feels special enough, too, so there’s no mistaking the Leaf for a normal car from behind the wheel.

There’s a Civic-style upper tier speedo, and the main binnacle is a multi-coloured blend of various displays. There’s a power bar made of dots, almost like an F1 style rev meter, flanked by battery charge level and battery temp. Planted between the seats is the special looking gear knob. Push up to reverse, down to drive, press to park – simple.
The piano black centre stack looks like a tablet stuck on the dash, and the central colour LCD shows a wealth of information such as real-time power consumption, with a break down to see how much juice the climate control and accessories are actually sucking. You can also check consumption history here.

Off we went from Jalan Kemajuan heading towards the Sprint Highway. I’ve driven a few EVs now, so the Leaf doesn’t shock, but I’m impressed with the lack of rolling noise/tyre roar compared to some other EVs. If you haven’t driven one before, the lack of noise and vibration will be the most jarring difference from a regular vehicle. It’s very serene and peaceful in the Leaf.
The Leaf’s controls are lightweight and effortless to operate, as one would have guessed. I wasn’t expecting so, but ride comfort is rather good – the suspension damped away the harsh effects of rumble strips and manholes served up by Jalan Dato Abu Bakar.

We got to stretch the EV a bit once on the Sprint, and acceleration is very strong off the mark thanks to 280 Nm of torque from standstill. The pick-up rate slows down once up to highway speeds, but I can already see the surprised faces of unsuspecting hot hatch drivers!
The wave of acceleration is accompanied by a faint “woooooo” sound – no drama involved. There’s also a distinct “lack of resistance” from the drivetrain, which contributes to the feeling of effortlessness. Top speed is “over 140 km/h” but we didn’t have the chance to try.

Back at base, I hopped into the rear quarters to find my 175 cm frame fit nicely, which means that taller folks are likely to face headroom issues. No such issue up front, since the rear seats are slightly elevated “stadium style”.
I also noticed that while there’s good knee room, there’s no gap for my feet to slip under the front seats. By the way, the 24 kWh laminated lithium-ion battery pack, consisting of 192 cells, is spread out beneath the cabin. In the US LA4 mode, which Nissan says is realistic, a full charge of eight hours delivers a 160 km range. A full charge will add about RM7.90 to your TNB bill, so it’s cheap to run.

No commercial sales yet though, and public awareness is the main goal for ETCM now. Full EVs are a different kettle of fish from hybrids, which requires no compromise on the buyer’s part. But I’m sure you and me can buy a Leaf some day – you don’t register 10 costly EVs and start a pilot program without the intention to sell, right?
Speaking of which, ETCM is on the lookout for ambassadors to drive the Leaf for up to six weeks – no celebs, real people, real routines. This will go on for the rest of this year. Register your interest at this weekend’s event or online.

I’m sure the chosen ones will have real fun experiencing zero emissions motoring. For them, motoring life might never be the same again!