CEBU, Philippines - The launching of the new Nissan Sylphy and the new Nissan Altima on April 4, 2014 at the Ayala Activity Center Cebu signified the start of a new era for Nissan in the Visayas. Last March 7, 2014, it was formally announced in the National launching of the two flagship models that Nissan Philippines, Inc.(NPI) would be taking over managerial tasks of putting back the Nissan Automotive Brand to the top of the Philippines automotive sales market.
Nissan, the third largest car company in the Philippines in the early 90’s succumbed to the Asian financial crisis of 1997 and never truly regained its form. The Japanese car manufacturer pulled out of directly overseeing the brand in the Philippines in 2000 causing the weakening of the Nissan market as shown by its dismal sales performance in the country despite being the 2nd best selling in Japan and the 4th biggest-selling automotive company in the world.
In the event, it was announced that the new company, NPI, is a joint venture between Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.(NML), Nissan Motor Philippines Inc. (NMPI), and Universal Motors Corporation (UMC). The company’s fundamental role is to strengthen the brand image in the Philippines under the slogan — “One Company, One Direction, One Nissanâ€. NPI is setting its eyes on regaining past glory as it aims to capture a bigger market share in the Philippines. It’s local dealer in Cebu, Nissan Cebu Distributors, Inc., is up to the task in reinforcing the brand. Since awarded the Nissan Dealership in 1993, the company’s goal is to continuously improve in providing total customer satisfaction in the areas of vehicle sales and after-sales operations.
The newly formed Nissan Philippines, Inc. is headed by its president and managing director, Kenji Naito. Kenji Naito has been holding key positions in his 29 years with the Nissan. His impressive record shows his expertise in management. He has been assigned to various markets around the world including Japan, New Zealand , South Africa, Thailand and South Korea.
The dual launch of Nissan new line of cars signals the start of the company’s commitment to uplift the brand. The two flagship cars presents the “One-Class Above†Concept. The new Nissan Altima is the latest executive sedan segment model while the new Nissan Sylphy is the premium C-Segment sedan.
The Sylphy is the new global sedan that is sold in more than 120 markets worldwide including the USA, Japan, China and Thailand. The Sylphy is one of Nissans global core models and is part of the brand’s aim to increase presence in the Philippine Market. It’s powered by a 1.8L (131ps/174Nm) and 1.6L (116ps/154Nm) engines (inline 4 cylinder, DOHC, 16 valves) which are both matched with new generation Nissan Xtronic CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) although the 1.6L also comes in Manual Transmission. The price of the Sylphy ranges from P812,000 to P998,000 and it comes in five colors.
On the other hand, the Altima, after an absence in the Philippine Market of more than two decades, is back in the market. The midsize executive 4-door sedan, which is built in the USA, has kept the dimensions of its predecessor and is offered in two variants—Altima SV, which has a 2,500cc twin-cam, 16 valve 4 cylinder engine that churns out 180ps and 243Nm that is priced at P1,650,000.00 and the Altima 3.5L, which has a 3,500cc, V6, 24-valve engine with 270ps and 340Nm with an SRP of P 2,030,000.
The Nissan resurrection is obviously welcoming news to the motoring public as it adds more color and variety to the already competitive Philippine Automotive Market. I wish them more power! (FREEMAN)