Automotive News - 2008 Guide to China's Auto Market - (Page 14)

14 GLOBAL AUTOMAKERS/JOINT VENTURES Mitsubishi Motors Corp. F18 Eastern Wing, Hanwei Plaza, No. 7 Guanghua Road Chaoyang District, Beijing 100021, P.R. China (86) 10-6561-3030, www.mitsubishi-motors.com.cn Top executive: Hiromi Endo, general manager Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is proof that in China sales don’t always go up. The company is in a rebuilding phase in China and expects sales of Mitsubishirelated vehicles, including those built by licensees, to fall to 77,000 units in 2010. That is a 21.2 percent drop from 97,765 in 2007, according to company figures. Sales last year were flat from 2006, and Mitsubishi hasn’t given an outlook for 2008. To stop the decline, it aims to strengthen its local sales networks. Part of the plan is increasing sales of imported Mitsubishi cars. On that score, the company has posted modest success, having boosted import sales to 9,970 units last year from 4,000 vehicles a year earlier. Mitsubishi’s China business could get a big lift from launching the redesigned Lancer, which has already debuted in the United States, Europe and Japan. But Mitsubishi is still deciding whether the sporty sedan will make it to China in 2008. — Hans Greimel JV: Hunan Changfeng Motor Co. 18/F Hualing Building, 111# Second Section, Furong Mid Road Changsha City, Hunan Province 410011, P.R. China (86) 731-2881-800, www.cfmotors.com Top executive: Li Jianxin, president 2007 2006 JV: Soueast (Fujian) Motor Co. Dongnan Industrial Area, Fuzhou City Fujian Province 350119, P.R. China (86) 591-2276-6566, www.soueast-motor.com Top executive: Jian Qinglong, general manager 2007 2006 Capacity 80,000 80,000 Production 24,546 23,574 Unit sales 24,428 24,688 Models produced: Liebao (Mitsubishi Pajero) Ownership: Changfeng Group Others Mitsubishi Motors Corp. 50% 35% 15% Capacity 150,000 150,000 Production 40,056 42,572 Unit sales 45,679 45,360 Models produced: Lioncel, Landio, Soveran, Freeca, Galant, New Space Wagon Ownership: Mitsubishi Motors Corp. Fujian Motor Industry Group Taiwan China Motor Corp. 25% 50% 25% Nissan (China) Investment Co. 13/F, South Tower of Beijing Kerry Centre, No. 1 Guang Hua Road Chaoyang District, Beijing 100020, P.R. China (86) 10-8529-8181, www.nissan.com.cn Top executive: Kayashima Yukihisa, CEO Nissan Motor Co. is counting on new models to fuel growth in 2008. The company expects sales to expand 27.9 percent to 360,000 vehicles this year. The company is getting a boost from new models such as the Infiniti M35, which was launched in January. The popular Qashqai crossover debuted in March. Nissan and Infiniti each will launch two more models in 2008, but Nissan won’t say which. A top challenge will be nurturing the Infiniti brand, introduced in China only last July. Luxury cars make up just 2.0 percent of the local market, and Infiniti sales totaled a meager 1,500 units last year. By contrast, the Nissan Tiida is enjoying strong momentum. Its sales rose 11.5 percent to 123,310 last year despite being in the subcompact segment, where 25 of 42 Volkswagen Bora. Nissan also will be challenged to ensure high-quality customer service amid the rapid growth. The automaker sees sales outlets growing to 340 this year from 300 in 2007. Nissan is hoping to boost sales through a new financing arm that it opened in January with its local partner, Dongfeng Motor Group Co. The venture will give new-car loans to Nissan and Infiniti customers across China as well as provide inventory financing for dealers. To make sure dealer performance is up to snuff, Nissan also opened a 6,397-squaremeter (69,000-square-foot) training center at the Huadu plant last month. That center can instruct 500 sales associates and mechanics at one time. Nissan invested $3.1 million in the training center. — Hans Greimel NISSAN QASHQAI models declined in sales. In December, the Tiida was the fourthbest-selling model in China. In other segments, Nissan is starting to feel pressure from increased competition. Sales of the compact Sylphy nearly quadrupled to 57,182 units last year. But Nissan had to drop the price 9.0 percent to counter price cuts on the Mazda6 and JV: Zhengzhou Nissan Automobile Co. No. 1405, East Hanghai Road, Zhengzhou Economic & Technical Zone Zhengzhou City, Henan Province 450016, P.R. China (86) 371-6603-3666, www.zznissan.com.cn Top executive: Guo Zhenfu, general manager 2007 2006 Capacity 60,000 60,000 Production 10,258 7,795 Unit sales 9,605 7,800 Models produced: Nissan Paladin SUV Ownership: Dongfeng Motor Co. Nissan Motor Co. Zhengzhou Light Vehicle Co. JV: Dongfeng Motor Co./Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Co. No. 8 Fengshen Road, Huadu, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province 510800, P.R. China (86) 20-8687-0670, www.dongfeng-nissan.com Top executive: Mamoru Yoshida, general manager 51% 30% 19% 2007 2006 Capacity 360,000 360,000 Production 273,898 201,251 Unit sales 271,915 203,537 Models produced: Nissan Bluebird, Sunny, Teana, Tiida, Sylphy; Livina Geniss Ownership: Nissan (China) Investment Co. 50% Dongfeng Motor Group Co. 50% 2008 GUIDE TO CHINA’S AUTO MARKET Automotive News • J.D. Power and Associates • Automotive Resources Asia http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com.cn http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com.cn http://www.cfmotors.com http://www.soueast-motor.com http://www.nissan.com.cn http://www.nissan.com.cn http://www.zznissan.com.cn http://www.dongfeng-nissan.com

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