Just a few hours before this article landed, a Sylphy on the way to the train station once again aroused my attention to Nissan.
To be honest, last year, this year's Dongfeng Nissan spent in dire straits, new forces, new energy crazy dominance of the front page, hot spots, Nissan's sense of existence is not strong, and even I have forgotten its existence.
But fortunately, it was also this Sylphy that awakened the memories, and checked the sales on a whim, and what did not match its volume was that in the first ten months, the Sylphy still sold 28Of the 860,000 units, the best-selling compact car, it still holds a firm spot. However, it is not optimistic that in the first ten months, the cumulative sales of Dongfeng Nissan passenger cars were only 58580,000 units, down 2586%, compared with the peak year, almost halved.
Since it reminds me of paying attention to its existence, let's also talk about Dongfeng Nissan, whether there is still a chance to return to the top in the domestic market?Where is the danger and the opportunity?
The strategic adjustment will be exerted next year
If we look at the data only from a superficial level, despite the setback in the Chinese market, Nissan's performance on a global scale is gratifying.
According to the financial report for the first half of fiscal 2023 (April 1, 2023 to September 30, 2023) recently released by Nissan Motor, Nissan's consolidated net income in the first half of the year was 606 trillion yen (about 2,899.)2.9 billion yuan), and the consolidated operating profit was 336.7 billion yen (about 161.1 billionRMB0.9 billion), with an operating margin of 56%。
In addition to the large impact on the Chinese market, sales, revenue, and profit in other regions have increased significantly. The reason for this is the intensification of competition in the domestic market and the hindsight of Dongfeng Nissan's rapid penetration of China's new energy vehicle market.
All in all, in a word, Nissan is currently rich and still the leader of the global automotive industry. If you have money, of course, it depends on whether you still pay attention to the domestic market and need to pursue changes in the market.
We can get a glimpse or two from Nissan President and CEO Makoto Uchida's public statement.
"We achieved significant growth in operating profit in the closing year of our 'Nissan Next Corporate Transformation Program', which gives us the confidence to achieve our goals and achieve sustainable growth." At the same time, we will take strategic steps to improve our business performance in the Chinese market and plan to launch four new energy models in the Chinese market starting in the second half of 2024. These initiatives further demonstrate Nissan's ongoing commitment to Nissan Ambition 2030. ”
Makoto Uchida made it clear that although he is confident that Nissan Motor will achieve its set goals and achieve sustainable growth, he also acknowledges the aftermath of the Chinese market and clarifies its goal and determination to catch up.
Not only the headquarters, but at the 2023 Guangzhou Auto Show held last month, Takeshi Yamaguchi, vice president of Dongfeng Motor and general manager of Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Company, also made it clear: "As the backbone of helping to achieve the new strategic goals, Dongfeng Nissan firmly believes in 'being in China, for China, and to the world', forging the strongest system of joint ventures, and making every effort to fight for new energy." ”
The words show the firmness of betting on the domestic market and the confidence of all in the pursuit of the new energy market.
At the same time, not long ago, on December 6, Dongfeng Motor issued a notice: Gao Guolin no longer serves as the deputy general manager of Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Company, and continues to serve as the vice president of Dongfeng MotorZhou Feng is the vice president of Dongfeng Motor and the deputy general manager of Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Company.
In fact, the deputy general manager of Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Company is the real leader of Dongfeng Nissan. Although both of them are "Dongfeng people" in the real sense, Gao Guolin is more concentrated in financial management, business plan management, enterprise management, operation management and other fieldsIn 2004, he graduated from the Institute of Nuclear Energy and New Energy Technology of Tsinghua University, majoring in nuclear science and technology, and since joining the Dongfeng Nissan Technology Center in July of the same year, he has served as the first deputy director of the development department, the director of the model development department, and the director of the body development department of the Dongfeng Nissan Technology Center.
This change of leadership also fully proves that Dongfeng Nissan will vigorously develop new energy technologies and products for the Chinese market. According to the statements of many parties, the second half of next year is likely to usher in a new energy model of strategic significance after the comprehensive transformation of Dongfeng Nissan.
Technology-driven, is it possible?
Up to now, Dongfeng Nissan has not had many products on the new energy track, whether it is Nissan ARIYA, or the e-power version of Sylphy and X-Trail, none of them really show the technology that is ahead of the times.
As the saying goes, a glimpse of the whole leopard, but it doesn't seem to apply to Nissan, after all, we still can't trough the heart of a "veteran", let alone a "veteran" who has been playing in the new energy market for 76 years. At this year's Japan Mobility Show, Nissan proved it with five Hyper series pure electric concept cars for different groups of people and different life scenarios.
The most typical is definitely Nissan's technological breakthrough in solid-state batteries, in terms of energy density and mileage that can best reflect the technology at this stage, Nissan's all-solid-state batteries have almost reached twice that of existing batteries, improving the vehicle's cruising range while bringing a new pure electric vehicle experienceIn terms of energy supplement, Nissan's solid-state battery can make the charging time comparable to the level of today's "oil car".
And the technology is not just at the stage of the laboratory or technology showcase, but has a clear mass production plan, starting a pilot plant in 2024 and mass production and launching it by 2028. At present, there are not many companies that dare to clearly give the mass production and installation of solid-state batteries, which fully proves that Nissan has always been forward-looking in terms of technology, and has achieved small results.
In line with the ambition that "in the next three years, the Nissan brand will launch four locally developed new energy models in the Chinese market", it is not impossible for electric technology to drive Dongfeng Nissan to a new level.
Danger and opportunity coexist
Regardless of the future, at least the current Dongfeng Nissan is indeed in the throes of transformation, the fuel market is gradually penetrated in the fierce competition in the Chinese market is an indisputable fact, and it is also a reality that the leading new energy technology does not appear in the list of consumers.
At the 2023 Guangzhou Auto Show, Dongfeng Nissan also brought a new fuel product that has been selling overseas for 38 years and has undergone 4 generations of evolution, namely pathfinder, the Chinese name Tanlu.
In the face of the current fuel market is also facing the competition of intelligent performance, the stable and reliable exploration of the land may still not be very pleasing, but fortunately, whether it is word-of-mouth, or quality, there is no lack of potential users who recognize it, on the other hand, the domestic 6-seat family SUV is gradually being explored, and the general environment is good for the exploration of the land.
Of course, the arrival of Tanlu is more like Dongfeng Nissan's "hemostat" in the throes of transformation, in order to help the brand better complete the transformation.
At present, Dongfeng Nissan's top priority is still the research and development and implementation of new energy technology, if the German and Japanese systems still occupy nearly 40% of the market in the Chinese market to quickly complete the transformation, and at the same time with the adjustment of marketing, there are still greater opportunities, next door SAIC Volkswagen, FAW-Volkswagen and SAIC-GM recently began to rebound in the new energy market performance is the best proof.
For Dongfeng Nissan, the pain of transformation is inevitable, especially in the current situation, the transformation may have to go through a bone-chilling in order to get the fragrance of plum blossoms. The industry and users do not have to prematurely sing the decline of the Japanese system, the decline of Nissan, perhaps the innovative products in the second half of next year is the beginning of Dongfeng Nissan's jump.