AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)04/06 Report--

On April 6, Nissan China announced its sales figures for the first quarter of 2023. According to the data, Nissan sold 161961 vehicles in China in the first quarter of 2023, down 36.8 percent from the same period last year, of which Dongfeng Nissan (including Nissan, Qichen and Infiniti brands) sold 151467 vehicles. The business sector of light commercial vehicles (Zhengzhou Nissan) sold 10494 vehicles, up 7.6% from the same period last year.

From January to March 2023, Nissan's sales in China (including passenger vehicles and light commercial vehicles) were 47521, 59997 and 54443, respectively, down 64.4%, 22.6% and 25.3% from a year earlier, according to official data. From the data analysis, whether it is monthly sales or quarterly sales, Nissan's sales in China have declined to varying degrees.

On sales performance, Mr. Shohei Yamazaki, senior vice president of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., chairman of Nissan China Management Committee and president of Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd., said: "the company's top priority and focus is to improve sales quality, ensure the interests of partners and consumers, and promote sustainable growth of business in China." In the coming months, the company will launch a number of new models with Nissan's advanced technology in the Chinese market to meet the diversified needs of Chinese consumers.

The industry believes that Nissan's poor sales in China are not only due to environmental factors, but also to the decline in the market performance of Dongfeng Nissan's traditional fuel models and the slow progress of new energy vehicle products.

Dongfeng Nissan is currently the main source of sales of Nissan in China. At present, Dongfeng Nissan passenger cars are mainly composed of three major brands: Nissan, Infiniti and Qichen. Models on sale include Xuanyi, Teana, Qijun, Xiaoke, Bluebird, Tuda, Jinke, Loulan and so on, but the main selling models are only Xuanyi, Qijun, Teana and Xiaoke, but at present these traditional fuel vehicles have lost their advantage in the Chinese market.

So far, the official has not announced the specific model sales in March. From January to February of 2023, Dongfeng Nissan sold a total of 83711 vehicles, down 41.72 percent from a year earlier, with a market share of 2.87 percent, according to data from new car traffic insurance. In terms of specific models, Xuanyi's sales fell 31.52% year-on-year to 49676, accounting for 59.34% of total sales; Xiaoke fell 47.98% to 14588; Teana fell 68.19% to 8473; and Qijun increased 129.8% to 6084.

In addition, under the background that new energy vehicles are gradually becoming a major trend of the automotive industry, the slow progress of Dongfeng Nissan electrification is also one of the important reasons affecting Nissan's sales in China.

Last year, Dongfeng Nissan launched its first pure electric SUV model, AiRuiya, which is based on Nissan's new pure electric vehicle platform, positioning compact SUV, and launched a total of four models, with a price range of 27.28-342800 yuan at that time. There are two-wheel drive version and four-wheel drive version, of which the two-wheel drive version is equipped with a single motor with maximum power of 178kW and a peak torque of 300Nm. The four-wheel drive version is equipped with dual motors with maximum power of 160kW and peak torque of 600Nm. In terms of battery, the new car is equipped with ternary lithium ion battery pack and CLTC pure electric mileage of 623km.

"AiRuiya" mainly competes with SAIC-Volkswagen ID.4 X, FAW-Volkswagen ID.4 CROZZ, Guangzhou Auto Toyota / FAW Toyota bZ4X and other models after its listing, but the new car has not achieved the desired results in the domestic market. New car traffic insurance data show that Aliya sold only 111 vehicles from January to February in 2023, compared with 52 in February, while Volkswagen ID.4, which is seen as a competitor, sold 1864 vehicles in the first two months.

At present, if Nissan wants to increase its sales and market share in China, it urgently needs to spend more resources and energy to accelerate the launch of more cost-effective and more attractive electric models. According to the plan, Nissan will launch 19 pure electric vehicles and 35 hybrid models by 2030. At the end of February this year, Nissan said in a statement that it would accelerate the electrification process in Europe and Japan. It is expected that the proportion of electric vehicle sales in these two regions will reach 98% and 58% respectively by fiscal year 2026. However, in the Chinese market, where electrification transformation is relatively rapid and on a relatively large scale, Nissan has made the decision to "reduce the proportion of electric vehicle sales expected". Nissan's electric car sales in China are expected to account for 35 per cent of its total sales in fiscal year 2026, down from the previous forecast of 40 per cent, which means the Chinese market is likely to be the slowest area for Nissan to electrify.

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