Micros under Nissan's scope

NISSAN Australia managing director and chief executive officer, Shinya Hannya, has admitted that the company’s passenger car line-up was weak and revealed that a decision on a light-car contender would be made this year.

Speaking to GoAuto at the launch of the company’s crucial new Tiida small car, Mr Hannya said the Micra was being evaluated alongside the Cube and Note mini cars.

"We are working on several possibilities for a light-car offering," he said. "We have to look at several issues and price is one of them."Mr Hannya said it was "crucial" to have a light car in Australia within 24 months.

"When you look at the success of the Yaris it means there is space there for a Nissan product," he said.

Small-car sales have grown 45 per cent since 2000 and Nissan believes the arrival of the new Tiida, and the possibility of a light-car offering, will present plenty of opportunity.

Mr Hannya admitted to being disappointed with the company’s performance last year, blaming the runout of the Pulsar and its lack of a hatchback, the slump in Patrol sales and a slow ramp-up of interest in its newer models. Even the Murano off-roader’s performance was disappointing, he said.

"But it will take time to grow," he said. "We thought pushing the Murano would be hard and we may have to re-address marketing and communication issues with it for 2006."

Left: Nissan Cube and Note (below).

Mr Hannya said Nissan aimed to recover the ground it lost in 2005 and hoped to regain its 2004 share, despite what he expected would be a flat year for overall market growth.

Nissan sales slipped from 63,654 – 6.7 per cent market share – in 2004 to 56,032 last year – giving it a 5.7 per cent market share in what was a booming year.

Its lacklustre result came on the back of the arrival of several new products, including the Murano, Pathfinder and Navara.

Nissan Australia’s general manager of sales and marketing, Stephen Collins, said the large SUV segment, which slowed by 20 per cent last year on the back of rising fuel prices and growth in other model offerings, meant that Patrol sales had become a "challenge".

Mr Collins said Nissan would chase a bigger percentage of fleet buyers for Patrol this year.

Currently between 60 and 70 per cent of Patrol buyers are private buyers.

Mr Collins said there was an opportunity for Patrol among mining companies, governments and rural communities, which generally swore by the Toyota LandCruiser.

"We have not traditionally gone hard for mining or government business," he said. A new-generation Patrol is not due for at least two years.