Nissan South Africa (Nissan SA) today outlined the global company’s new five-year GT 2012 business plan at the Johannesburg International Motor Show, being held at the Nasrec Exhibition Centre in Johannesburg.
Speaking at the presentation, which also included previews of Nissan’s premier models and two new entrants, Nissan SA’s Managing Director Mike Whitfield said that GT 2012, as the successor to Nissan 180 and Nissan Value-Up, would drive the company into the next decade.
“We are committed to ‘growth’ and ‘trust’ he said, explaining the acronym. “Our growth, through new products, new technologies and new markets, includes our desire to contribute to the sustainable development of mobility. At the same time we intend to bolster trust by enhancing our relationships with our stakeholders, boosting confidence in our products and services, our performance, our return to shareholders and in our role on the planet.”
GT 2012, Whitfield said, will be driven by three corporate commitments:
- quality leadership – for Nissan’s products, services, brand, management and the company overall;
- leadership in zero-emission vehicles – through the introduction of an all-electric car in 2010 in the Unites States and Japan, followed by a mass-market rollout in 2012; and
- 5% revenue growth supported by a product plan which will launch significant new models by fiscal year 2012.
Business expansion, one of the pillars underpinning GT 2012, will be achieved with new vehicle launches, including Light Commercial Vehicles – reflected in today’s display of the NP200 – and an all new-entry car line-up.
Focus will also be placed on cost saving initiatives which will include working with suppliers on productivity improvements to maintain a high level of purchasing cost reductions. Nissan also aims to double the volume per part, on average, over the next five years as a result of the volume increases from business expansion, reductions in part complexity and product diversity as well as an increase in Renault-Nissan Alliance component parts.
“We will also pursue deep, competitive localisation in South Africa, simplifying design specifications to enable efficient sourcing,” said Whitfield, adding that the company’s aim for more localisation of parts for new vehicles is in support of the new Motor Industry Development Programme announced recently by the Department of Trade and Industry.
The line-up of Nissan’s new release models on display today included the sporty Livina X-Gear, the all new X-Trail, the Qashqai and the upgraded Pathfinder as well as previews of the new Murano and the next stage NP200 range extension.
Whitfield also introduced Nissan’s much awaited GT-R, a sports car combining speed and efficiency with high performance and safety. One of the most accomplished and technologically advanced high performance cars of its genre, the GT-R will be launched in South Africa during the last quarter of 2009.
Demonstrating Nissan’s commitment to zero emissions leadership was the Nuvu, a concept car which falls under Nissan’s Green Programme 2010 environmental plan to research environmentally-friendly technologies, carried out at Nissan’s award-winning and accredited Advanced Technology Centre in Japan. The Nuvu is a concept of how a Nissan EV might look in the near future.
In closing, Whitfield summed up Nissan’s GT 2012 philosophy: “With this plan we are making long-term commitments about things we believe in – commitments about sustainability, about mobility for all and about the environment.”
