Nissan global Light Commercial Vehicles Business Unit confirms achievement of Nissan Value-up commitment one year ahead of plan

LCV was one of the four breakthrough strategies identified by Nissan to achieve the commitments set in the three year mid-term Nissan Value-Up Plan. Andy Palmer confirmed the plan to achieve the LCV-BU sales commitment of 434,000 units one year ahead of schedule, and actually exceed it by actually selling 470,000 units by March 2007, the end of this fiscal year. This was indeed a great achievement by LCV-BU which was established in 2004 and made a huge impact in such a short period, contributing greatly towards the Nissan Value-Up Plan.

This success gave a further boost for the LCV-BU to further stretch its challenging target by announcing new sales objectives and raising the ceiling to 470,000 units to be achieved by March 2007.

Announcing the successful performance of LCV-BU, Palmer confidently remarked "The LCV business is growing in importance for Nissan, both in terms of volumes and profit contribution. We are recognized as an important contributor to Nissan's over all success. I am very confident that we will achieve both the commitments one year ahead of schedule. I am also proud of the team effort globally which has helped us over achieve the set targets a year ahead of plan. This success has motivated us to further contribute to the goals of Nissan Value-up plan which will end by March 2008."

From a regional perspective Palmer confirmed that the Middle East is identified as a key growth region in Nissan's global plan to win a greater share of the light commercial vehicle market. Unlike the global LCV market which remains stable at around nine million units, the GCC market has grown significantly with YTD estimate of 30% taking into consideration the Pickup, Van, Bus and Truck segments. This necessitated the creation of the LCV Middle East Business Unit (LCV-MEBU) in 2006 to support the existing Nissan LCV line up of the PICKUP truck, the PATROL PICKUP truck, the CIVILAN bus and the URVAN van & Microbus.

"LCV Middle East Business Unit is fully committed to the development of the LCV business and successful achievement of the regional objectives", said Reza Alavi, head of LCV Middle East Business Unit at Nissan Middle East. "The LCV-MEBU will register a growth of 36% in the Value-Up period from Fiscal Year 2004 until 2007 contributing significantly to the global achievement."

As a separate business unit, the newly formed LCV-MEBU will be fully operational starting April 2007. Alavi explained the structure and key objectives of the unit saying: "With the start of our operations and as part of our commitment to the region we have set our goals of bringing new quality products, penetrating new markets and expanding our network."

The specialized business unit will have its implications on the dealers' network in terms of benefits from new product enhancements and more specialized support in all the areas of business from product planning to marketing, sales and aftersales (both parts and service). The Pro-shop concept which is part of a global value chain enhancement strategy could be later adopted and adapted in line with the specific regional needs.