Nissan: Inland China to offset weak coastal sales
Nissan Motor Co. expects auto demand in China's inland provinces to help offset poor sales in China's coastal areas.
"Increasing demand from inland China is offsetting (weak demand in coastal regions), and we have barely seen growth in overall Chinese demand compared to the previous year," said Kimiyasu Nakamura, president of Dongfeng Motor Co., Nissan's joint venture with China's Dongfeng.
In April, Dongfeng said it aims to add a new model every year to its China-only Venucia brand, targeting annual sales of 300,000 vehicles by 2015. At that point, Venucia will have five models and 250 exclusive dealerships.
Car sales in China climbed 5.2 percent in 2011, the slowest pace since the turn of the century, as consumers shunned local brands after Beijing scrapped tax incentives for small cars.
China's economy is expected by economists to grow at its weakest pace this year since 1999.
"Increasing demand from inland China is offsetting (weak demand in coastal regions), and we have barely seen growth in overall Chinese demand compared to the previous year," said Kimiyasu Nakamura, president of Dongfeng Motor Co., Nissan's joint venture with China's Dongfeng.
In April, Dongfeng said it aims to add a new model every year to its China-only Venucia brand, targeting annual sales of 300,000 vehicles by 2015. At that point, Venucia will have five models and 250 exclusive dealerships.
Car sales in China climbed 5.2 percent in 2011, the slowest pace since the turn of the century, as consumers shunned local brands after Beijing scrapped tax incentives for small cars.
China's economy is expected by economists to grow at its weakest pace this year since 1999.
