Zimpapers Logo

Business Reporter
Nissan Motor Co Limited sees Zimbabwe as an important market for the company’s Sub Saharan Africa growth strategy which aims to put the company among the top three auto companies in the continent.

Nissan is currently a top brand in Zimbabwe with a 30 percent market share mainly driven by strong sales of light commercial vehicles including the NP300 Hardbody, the half-ton NP200 and the one-ton Nissan Navara.

“Zimbabwe is an important market in our Sub Saharan Africa growth strategy, which aims to put Nissan among the top three auto companies in Africa.

“Our brand has grown in popularity in Zimbabwe since we established a presence almost 50 years and we are fully committed to increasing our already substantial market share in support of our Sub Sahara Africa goal,” said Nissan Sub Saharan Africa general manager for sales and operations Liz Segal.

The pickups’ sturdiness and reliability have long made them a stalwart in Africa and also coming into their own are Nissan’s crossover range where the Japanese automaker boasts global leadership as well as its sports utility vehicles and passenger ranges.

Key to Nissan’s success in Zimbabwe is support from local distribution partners, selected from an established network to act as custodians of the brand.

“As a customer orientated company committed to a global vision of putting the customer at the centre of everything we do, our aim is to tailor our products for individual markets. We want to bring the right car to the right market at the right time and this is important as demand for cars in all categories increases in Africa.

“Through our distribution partners we have representation at various sales and service outlets in Bulawayo, Harare and Mutare.

Our network is expanding as we look to improve customer accessibility in major centres,” said Mrs Segal.

Nissan South Africa in 2014 partnered five local Nissan dealers in a direct to dealer arrangement that will see the company extending its footprints on the local market.

The chosen dealers received marketing and product support from Nissan South Africa through a “direct to dealer” partnership that will benefit the local consumer.

Nissan will be exhibiting its brands at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair where vehicle like the new Nissan Qashqai and X-Trail will be on show.

Now in its 57th year, the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair aims to accelerate growth in Zimbabwe by bringing together a variety of private and public sector stakeholders, who can also take advantage of valuable information-sharing and networking opportunities.

The ZITF starts next week from 25 April and runs until 30 April and Nissan South Africa responsible for markets in the Sub Saharan region is using this premier intra-regional trade industry event featuring a cross section of sectors as a platform to underscore its commitment to the country.

“The Trade Fair is an opportunity to showcase some of the local products in these categories – for example, the NP300 pickup, Sentra sedan, and crossover Qashqai and X-Trail.

“While Nissan sales are driven largely by Government, corporate and mining industry fleets, the Trade Fair is an opportunity to promote its wide range of products to private individuals,” said Mr Segal.

Nissan Motor Co Ltd, Japan’s second largest automotive company headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, and is part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance.