Nissan Motors Co. is paying more attention to feedback from its China representatives for the design of new cars, said senior vice president Andy Palmer at the China International Auto Show in Shanghai on April 20.

 

Palmer said Nissan sold about 545,000 units of passenger and light commercial vehicles under the Nissan and Infiniti brands in China last year, accounting for about 14 percent of its global sales. In 2003, it was only 3 percent.

 

He added that this share was expected to increase slightly in 2009.

 

He said when Nissan is designing new cars, the votes of its China representatives carry much greater weight than they did in the past.

 

Nissan's China representatives are even determining new car designs, because the company wants the design to fit the Chinese market.

 

Palmer also the China market has become much more sophisticated, so his company needs to enhance product customization to accommodate the tastes of Chinese customers. Such customization is mainly done to interior trims.

 

Nissan's sales in China surged 30 percent year on year in the first quarter of this year, Palmer said.

 

But Nissan's sales target for the market here this year is only 4.5 percent.

 

Palmer said the full-year target was conservative because a big part of the growth in the first three months comes from the car purchasing tax cut by the Chinese government. Nissan is not sure if the effects of the stimulus will decline later in the year.

 

"Our hope is the stimulus package will kick-start the economy," he said. "Whether or not the strong performance so far this year is sustainable is a matter for debate."

 

Palmer said Nissan will launch 10 more passenger vehicles and 5 light commercial vans over the next few years to boost its sales growth in China.

 

He also said that while the average local content rate of Nissan cars built in China is now about 70 percent, the company's target is to increase this to over 90 percent.