Nissan to Sell Chinese Dongfeng Pick-Ups Overseas
Nissan Motor Co. plans to offer Dongfeng pick-up trucks internationally, becoming the first major carmaker to add a Chinese brand to its global sales network.
The Japanese carmaker will also sell Nissan-brand Paladin multipurpose vehicles made by Zhengzhou Nissan Automobile Co. overseas, Guo Zhenfu, the venture’s president, said in an interview in Beijing yesterday.
Adding Dongfeng pick-ups may help Nissan as it battles General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. for customers in emerging markets, where auto sales will likely grow 20 percent this year, according to Nissan Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn. Zhengzhou Nissan is also set to open its second factory in Africa and may add one in Kazakhstan.
“It’s good to target emerging markets as these are growing quickly,”said Atsushi Kawai, a senior analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities Co. in Tokyo. “The vehicle prices should also be attractive to consumers as they’re built in China with lower costs.”
Zhengzhou Nissan, equally owned by Nissan and Dongfeng Automobile Co., plans to sell 140,000 vehicles in 2010 and 180,000 in 2012, compared with 60,000 last year. Overseas markets will likely account for half of sales by 2010.
‘Very Competitive’
“We have a huge market in China, but we should also expand to other countries to help share possible risks,” said Guo. “Vehicles made in China are very competitive on both quality and pricing.”
The venture runs a plant in Zhengzhou, northern China, with a capacity of 60,000 vehicles a year, according to its Web site. The Paladin, which is only sold in China at present, is priced from 159,800 yuan ($22,500).
Nissan fell 4.1 percent to 896 yen at 1:25 p.m. in Tokyo trading. Dongfeng Auto dropped 3.2 percent to 7.90 yuan at the 11:30 a.m. trading break in Shanghai.
Zhengzhou Nissan plans to start production in Angola next month, where it will build as many as 30,000 pick-up trucks and other vehicles a year, according to Guo. The company is aiming to open a similar-sized factory in Kazakhstan. It already has a plant in Sudan.
Ghosn, also head of Renault SA, is targeting emerging markets as auto sales in the U.S. and Japan slow. Nissan and Renault plan to build a $1.1 billion plant in India. Renault, which owns 44 percent of Nissan, has also bought a stake in OAO AvtoVAZ, Russia’s biggest automaker.
GM, the world’s largest automaker, exports cars made by its ventures with Shanghai-based SAIC Motor Corp. to Ukraine and Chile. It also planned to ship Cadillac SLXs to the Middle East. Honda Motor Co., Japan’s second-biggest automaker, exports Honda-brand cars made at a factory in the southern city of Guangzhou.
Chrysler LLC, the third-largest U.S. automaker, plans to begin selling cars made by Chery Automobile Co. no later than the beginning of next year, President Tom LaSorda said in December.
Tags: Chery, China Auto, Chrysler, General-Motors, Honda, Nissan, Toyota
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