Nissan is currently facing headwinds at the moment. It’s restructuring and trying to transform itself into a leaner organization, with the goal of becoming profitable in the near future.
Naturally, questions abound about its current financial health, the product roadmap, and what it means for Nissan Philippines.
Recently we were able to meet Masao Tsutsumi, the new president of Nissan PH, at a media dinner, and he shed light on the status of one of the top brands in the Philippine market. Tsutsumi just arrived in the Philippines a few months ago, and he has been familiarizing himself with local operations while his visa status was being processed.
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The first thing the Nissan Philippines president said was that they are here to stay, addressing rumors that the brand’s days are numbered. But Tsutsumi said the current Nissan is too big, and some rightsizing is needed. This is why the Japanese carmaker is looking into closing some factories.
There’s also the specter of cash flow, and Nissan’s dire need of it. We’ve also written about some moves to rectify this. Tsutsumi said they plan to be profitable by 2026, which is not too far away.
But to get to 2026, they have to endure 2025 first, and Tsutsumi admitted that this is a rough year for the Nissan brand. It will be a lean year in terms of operations and activities; only one launch could happen in 2025.
There will be new dealers, however. Three showrooms are planned to go up in these locations this year: Carmona, Cavite; Del Monte, Bulacan, and Bukidnon.
In 2026, Nissan PH will strike back. Beginning next year, and for three consecutive years, there will be three to four model launches annually. One of those will surely be the all-new Navara and Terra; models that will surely ignite the market because of their popularity. The Nissan Magnite was also mentioned at the table, but the response from the Nissan head was politely noncommittal.
Tsutsumi also brought up the possibility of sourcing from countries outside Thailand, where its main factory in ASEAN is located. A new source of models would increase and diversify Nissan’s lineup.
It’s good to hear updates straight from Nissan itself. This should assuage the concerns, if there are any, of existing and future customers. We look forward to seeing exciting things from Nissan in the months to come.
