Did we say that Japanese brands have to do something to stop the erosion of market share in China? Nissan took the advice and said today that they started construction of their second factory in China’s southern Guangdong Province. According to The Nikkei [sub], the factory will open in 2012 with an annual capacity of 240,000 vehicles.
The plant is part of Dongfeng Nissan, a joint venture between Nissan and Dongfeng Motor Co. Together with their first plant, Nissan will have capacity for 600,000 units in China. By end of 2012, Nissan plans to increase their total annual capacity to 900,000 units, up 70 percent from the 2009 level.
PS: Suzuki also decided to fight Japanese market share erosion in China. They will launch the Kizashi in China, a midsize sedan that is already available in Japan and North America. They will also expand their Chinese dealer network by 20 percent to 1200, says The Nikkei. We are waiting for Suzuki to bring more of its extensive its minivehicle expertise to bear on China.
Hey Bertel, this is not related to this post, but do you know if GM includes Wuling vans when they report their sales in China?
AbsoNSFWlutely.
More than a million of the little critters. Without Wuling (34% ownership…), GM China would be down to Buick and Chevy and in the same league as Toyota.
Key question: How much of the Japanese share erosion is due to a) wrong product, b) hi-pricing and c) constrained supply, and if it is a pricing issue, is this due to limited supply?