The U.S. car market will be “little bit worse” in 2008 than this year, according to Nissan Motor Co. President Carlos Ghosn.

“I see a tough market in the U.S.,” said Ghosn, as cited by Market Watch.

Speaking at the Tokyo International Automotive Conference on October 23, Ghosn predicted that the demand for vehicles in the United States may drop between 15.5 million and 16 million in 2008.

Smaller and more fuel-efficient cars, in particular, are sought after by consumers amid the increasing gasoline prices in the United States, said Ghosn, according to a Bloomberg report.

According to Ghosn, costs of raw material such as steel will steadily increase. However, the rigid competition among auto companies stops them from passing the costs to the consumers.

The sales of Nissan cars in the United States increased by 4.7 percent to 813,053 cars in the first three quarters of the year.

Ghosn also sees the partnership between the Japanese automobile company and European brand Renault SA as the key to raising the former’s production and sales to between seven million and eight million cars, as opposed to the present six million. Forty-four percent of Nissan shares are owned by Renault.

On that note, Nissan’s chief official announced that he is open to the idea of including a North American partner at the Renault-Nissan partnership. But such an undertaking would have to be by “mutual consent.”

The Nissan executive did not reveal yet Nissan and Renault’s new business strategy. But Ghosn said the alliance will zero in on increasing sales of low-cost vehicles all over the world.

Sources: Bloomberg, Market Watch

The Nissan Livina is taking the world by storm—albeit slowly.

Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. has recently announced its launch of the 2008 Nissan Livina and Grand Livina in Taiwan last weekend. This is Nissan’s attempt to meet the needs of diverse consumers by including minivans and compact hatchback segments in its vehicle lineup.

In line with the debut of the Livina series, Yulon Nissan Motor Co. of Taiwan and Nissan Motor Company South Africa recently conducted kick-off events. Nissan will launch the Grand Livina in November this year and the Livina in January next year in South Africa.

The Livina series in South Africa and Taiwan will be manufactured locally at the Rosslyn plant and the San Yi plant, respectively.

The Nissan Grand Livina had its first sales in China in November 2006, carrying the brand name Livina Geniss. In April this year, the sale of the Livina model followed; the Gran d Livina was launched in Indonesia. Despite its being relatively new in the market, the Livina Geniss and Grand Livina have already been acclaimed as Indonesian Car of the Year and Best Compact MPV by Mobil Motor Magazine.

The Grand Livina is a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) that has a seating capacity of seven people. It comes with 1.5, 1.6, or 1.8-liter gasoline engines including a four-speed automatic or five- or six-speed manual transmission, plus other exciting Nissan parts.

Planning to expand its market reach, Nissan is set to introduce the Livina and Grand Livina series to more countries in Asia. The Nissan Grand Livina will be launced in Malaysia before this year ends and in the Philippines next year. Also, Livina will be introduced in Indonesia in early 2008. The Nissan vehicles in Malaysia, Philippines, and Indonesia will be produced locally.

Source: Nissan

Nissan determined to promote diversity in its corporate world by getting women employees.

The diversity drive comes at a time when Nissan Motor Co. is seeing slipping sales and its first annual profit slide in seven years as it competes with other Japan car makers.

Nissan is so determined to attract and keep women employees they have introduced various women friendly incentives such as Nissan’s onsite daycare, family leave of up to two years and flexible work schedules.

Diversity programs are fairly established at American automakers, with women making up 27 per cent of management at General Motors Corp. At Toyota, women comprise one per cent of management, and 0.4 per cent at Honda. At Nissan, women in management have climbed to four per cent from 1.6 per cent in 2004 under the diversity drive, and the company is targeting five per cent by March 2008. Women make up 10 per cent of management overall in Japan compared to 42.5 per cent in the U.S.

“Things are definitely changing,” said Kumi Hatsukano, a manager for car body design at Nissan. “But what would be ideal is if we could stop talking about this topic of being a woman or a man altogether.”

When Hatsukano, 38, joined Nissan in 1993, she had her share of run-ins with sexual harassment. Male workers gave her unwanted attention and asked personal questions about her love life, especially when she was working late. Today, she is reaping some of the benefits of the diversity initiative. Her co-workers are understanding when she leaves early at seven to pick up her 1-year-old son at the company-run day-care center. Working past midnight had been routine before her maternity leave.

Japan is trying to keep up with Western nations in accepting women on the job, but with a culture that encourages women to become meek housekeepers, this proves to be a challenge.

“The obstacle for working women are the long hours prevalent in Japan, and the lack of understanding from men,” said Kumiko Morizane, labor ministry deputy director. “Women simply can’t endure overtime alongside the men while giving birth and raising children.” Japanese women lose out more than their Western sisters in a corporate culture that values seniority, rather than performance, for promotion and pay. Women fear getting penalized for taking time off for childbirth, Morizane said.

In Japan, employers are required to give six weeks family leave before the due date and one year of child-care leave and must guarantee a comparable job afterward. But 67 per cent of working women quit after giving birth to their first child, according to a government study.

One reason women feel more empowered at Nissan is the unmistakable message from the top executive.

Brazilian-born and French-educated, Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn is determined to make diversity a buzzword, citing the success of the Nissan-Renault alliance, set up in 1999.

“We are creating a corporate culture committed to diversity,” he told shareholders recently, “where merit alone opens every door.”

Yukiko Yoshimaru, 47, hired two years ago to push the diversity effort spearheaded by Ghosn, says empowering women holds potential in the auto industry.

Nissan research found women are involved in 60 per cent of decision-making when buying a car. Hiring women and supporting their careers add to Nissan’s competitive edge, she said.

“If a woman wants to work, then people believe in you, you appreciate that and work hard. That sets off a positive cycle,” Yoshimaru said. “But when things go the other direction, it becomes negative.”

Adjustments to assembly lines for women - such as lowering stands and keeping parts clean of slippery grease - make the job easier for all workers, said Ikahata, the production worker.

“Male workers appreciate the changes my presence has brought,” she said.

Miwa Ishii, 42, marketing manager, says women offer insights about customers.

Reflecting widespread sentiment among working women, Ishii likes to think what she contributes to Nissan is about her skills as a person and not her gender.

But the gradual rise of Japanese women as workers, car-owners and consumers has been critical in pushing Nissan to appreciate the value of female expertise to reach women buyers.

“Identifying with people’s emotions - that’s empathy,” Ishii said. “In a way, that’s what being a woman is all about.”

Japanese car maker, Nissan sees great opportunity in Russia as it builds its new $200 million assembly plant in St. Petersburg.

The new Russian plant is expected to begin building the redesigned Teana sedan in early 2009. The facility, which includes paint, trim and chassis lines, will have an annual capacity of 50,000 units. After the launch of the Teana, Nissan expects to add production of the redesigned X-Trail crossover.

The factory will produce annually 50,000 cars at the first stage. The volume of investments in the project will total $200 million.It will also open doors to 750 new employees.

Nissan executive vice-president Carlos Tavares noted that the decision on building Russia’s first factory was prompted by the company’s strategy, presupposing a rise in revenues and an increase in profits on investments as well as by geographic expansion.

“Geographic expansion in our understanding is not only a rise in car sales. We also determine where it is more expedient for us to make investments and to create new production facilities,” said the representative of the Nissan management.

He called the Russian market as very promising for Nissan: in the first six months of 2007 alone, the volume of Nissan car sales jumped up by 82 percent. The company placed fourth among foreign brands in Russia.

According to forecasts announced by Tavares, “Russia will soon outstrip Britain which is now the largest Nissan market in Europe”.

The Petersburg factory will use the most efficient production processes, successfully applied at the British Nissan factory. The Japanese corporation will also ensure training of the Russian personnel in advanced methods.

Tavares called the presence in the city of a seaport as an additional advantage for building the Russian Nissan factory in St. Petersburg, which “offers the company broad logistical opportunities”.

Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko noted that “the seaport of St. Petersburg already mulls over a possibility of building a new terminal specially to meet the needs of the car industry”. The St. Petersburg plant is Nissan’s first in Russia. The automaker said it expects Russia will overtake the U.K. this year as Nissan’s top sales market in Europe. Last year, Nissan sold 75,000 vehicles in Russia.

Russia’s booming economy and fast growing market has attracted a number of carmakers in recent years - most notably Toyota, Renault and Kia Motors.

Accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers have predicted that the Russian car market will be worth $96bn in sales by 2011.

Another new Nissan flagship dealership opened for business last month in  Kidlington, Oxfordshire. It is set  in a purpose-built site which will be able to accommodate a 10-car showroom and the latest Nissan visual identity.

This is said to be the first Nissan dealership  which will be operated by Derek Sims, formerly a director of Sytner and Inchcape. The £4 million, 14,000 sq. ft dealership is located on the Oxford Motor Park, and features a dedicated Used Car Center within the development.

Commenting on the opening of the new dealership, Nissan’s National Franchising Director, Angus Gray said, “We are delighted to welcome Derek Sims into the Nissan family. He is an excellent operator and is a very welcome addition to our dealer portfolio. This new purpose-built site in Kidlington showcases the new style of Nissan dealership and it’s in the ideal location, as over 75% of all car sales in Oxford come from the Motor Park.”

In addition to the 10-car showroom, which houses Nissan’s latest models including the new QASHQAI crossover, the dealership also has state of the art diagnostic and servicing equipment.

The dealership will have an official opening on 12th July.

Carlos Ghosn of Nissan, firmly believed and even backed the brand’s decision to manufacture cars in Sunderland despite the UK not joining the Euro.

Last month it was reported that Takeo Fukui, president of rival brand Honda, said the establishment of its factory in Swindon had been a mistake because of the UK’s failure to join the single currency.

But Ghosn insisted he would continue to fight to keep Nissan’s Sunderland plant open, regardless of the costs arising because of Britain not joining the Euro. He also mentioned that building a plant on foreign exchange rates didn’t make any sense.

Ghosn joined Nissan as its chief operating officer in June 1999. He then became the president by June of 2000 and was named chief executive officer in the following year. His turnaround of Nissan has gained him celebrity status in Japan, where he has published books and even has a manga character based on him. At the time he joined the company, it had debt of $20 billion and only three of its 48 models were generating a profit. Ghosn claimed that Nissan would have no net debt by 2005. Just one year after he joined, Nissan’s net profit climbed to $2.7 billion from a loss of $6.1 billion in the previous year. Nissan’s operating profit  margin has increased from 1.38% in FY 2000 to 9.25% in FY 2006.

Nissan Motor Company Ltd. yesterday released information on the multi-faceted four-year contract signed with Fox Sports Latin America to sponsor the South American Soccer Tournament: Copa Nissan Sudamericana.

This is not the first time that Nissan will be sponsoring the said tournament. In fact, Nissan has sponsored Copa Nissan Sudamericana since 2003. Nissan is investing in this long-term partnership to ensure an integral and solid marketing platform for its business in Latin America. This agreement also creates a great opportunity to consolidate Nissan’s brand presence in the region.

“Nissan is constantly searching for opportunities to build extensive marketing partnerships that allow us to engage consumers by building brand awareness on many platforms,” says Gilles Normand, Corporate Vice President, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. “This ongoing Pan-American partnership with Fox Sports also gives us the opportunity to market our products into the whole highly diverse Latin American market and demonstrate Nissan’s commitment to the development of soccer in the region.”

“Fox Sports is proud to join forces with a great global company like Nissan and build on our long-term relationship to extend the sponsorship contract until 2010″, declares Hector Costa, Sales Sr. Vice President, Fox Sports Latin America. “Copa Nissan Sudamericana has impressively increased its ratings and I’m sure it will grow even more with Nissan’s participation.”

Copa Nissan Sudamericana is a soccer tournament which is held from August to December. For the 2007 tournament, 34 teams will play from a total of 12 countries, 10 of which will come from South America, Mexico and for the first time, the United States.

Copa Nissan Sudamericana is the largest Nissan sponsorship in Latin America and will be used as central hub of a multi-pronged marketing campaign for the launch of new vehicles and the introduction of brand image campaigns.

Nissan improves vehicle quality as they open a new Field Quality Center or FQC. The said facility will focus on vehicle quality enhancement processes and will also conduct Field Quality Investigation Analysis or FQIA, to identify the root cause and solutions to vehicle problems. The center would be based at the Nissan Technical Center in Atsugi-shi, Kanagawa.

FQC will be a central collection base for incident parts received directly from the dealerships, where the parts are then subjected to detailed analysis. Equipped with the with state of the art testing equipment and measuring instruments, the center will be able to find out the cause of a problematic car part. This will then pave way to solutions of the particular product.

The FQC works jointly with the product development and manufacturing engineer teams in order to facilitate a continuous “quality improvement” process. The FQC findings are fed back to the Nissan Technical Center (NTC), where upcoming vehicles are being developed.

Nissan Senior Vice President, Total Customer Satisfaction, Kazumasa Katoh said, “The FQC will boost Nissan’s ability to deliver higher customer satisfaction. At the FQC, we will work to improve the quality of Nissan’s vehicles from every aspect in accordance with the Nissan Product Quality Policy (NPQP).” By applying the philosophy of “san-gen shugi” or “the principle of three-origins”, Nissan will endeavor to find solutions to quality issues by seeking out the root of the problem from three perspectives – the real part (genbutsu), on-site vehicle operating conditions (genba) and fact-based data (genjitsu).”

Nissan invested 900 million yen or $7.29 million into the facility, which occupies a 4,400m2 area, within the Nissan Technical Center campus. Construction of the center was completed in June 2007, giving an approximately 210 jobs. The FQC was designed to facilitate collaborative efforts with working areas dedicated to manufacturing engineer teams and supplier-partners. It is presently working on 10 quality projects in collaboration with different auto-parts suppliers.

The new facility will give Nissan the ability to process four times the quantity of parts-investigation compared to its previous capacity. Prior to the opening of FQC, Nissan’s field quality improvement team was located at the Shinkoyasu Operations Center in Yokohama.

Globally, Nissan has three other FQC facilities in operation since 2006, two are located in the U.S at Smyrna and Farmington Hills and another in Cranfield, U.K. for Europe. The FQC in Atsugi will serve the Japan domestic market as well as more than 140 countries in the General Overseas Market (GOM). All four global FQC facilities collaborate closely through constant communication in order to enhance Nissan’s global standard of quality.

Nissan will not be left behind with any technical advancement that may help improve their vehicles’ quality. In fact, the FQC is just one of the company’s facilities that help in product development. Other major investments the company had were Nissan Global Training Center (GTC) to train global experts in the Nissan Production Way (NPW), Nissan Global Production Engineering Center (GPEC) to standardize production engineering and global manufacturing processes, and Nissan Advanced Technology Center (NATC) to focus on breakthrough technologies for the future.