On June 16, 2024, as the new-level model of the two-wheel-drive 6-seat Terralander debuted at the Dongfeng Nissan Guangzhou headquarters base, Dongfeng Nissan officially announced the achievement of 16 million cumulative vehicle production and sales. After 21 years, Dongfeng Nissan has insisted on bringing high-quality products to Chinese users and has always developed together with the Chinese market. Standing at the new starting point of 16 million vehicle production and sales, Dongfeng Nissan will move towards a new journey in the future with a stable system strength, active transformation and reform, and continuous potential.
After 21 years of forging ahead, “Dongfeng Nissan” leads the development of the industry
Looking back at the development process in the past 21 years, the “Dongfeng Nissan speed” has long become an industry consensus. From the first SUNNY offline in 2003 to the achievement of 16 million vehicle sales in 2024, Dongfeng Nissan has created many “Dongfeng Nissan speeds” in its 21-year journey. In 2008, Dongfeng Nissan achieved a production and sales scale of 1 million vehicles in just 5 years, creating the fastest achievement speed in the industry; in 2013, it achieved a cumulative 4.5 million production and sales in just 10 years, refreshing the industry record again. Since then, whether it is the feat of reaching 10 million in 2018 or the high-quality leap across the 15 million milestone in 2022, Dongfeng Nissan has always been at the forefront of the industry and has become one of the enterprises in Chinese joint-venture auto companies that achieves these achievements the fastest.
After entering 2024, the competition in the Chinese auto market has further intensified, and the strong rise of Chinese new energy models has brought a fierce impact to joint-venture auto companies. In this context, Dongfeng Nissan cannot be immune either, but in the case of many auto companies struggling, Dongfeng Nissan’s performance is remarkable. From January to May 2024, Dongfeng Nissan’s cumulative batch sales reached 280,000 units, an increase of 3.8% year-on-year, becoming the only enterprise among mainstream joint-venture auto companies to achieve a year-on-year positive growth in cumulative annual sales, injecting a shot in the arm into the market.
Behind 16 million vehicles is Dongfeng Nissan’s keen market insight into market changes
The official announcement of the achievement of 16 million cumulative vehicle production and sales is Dongfeng Nissan’s continuous creation of high-quality star auto products. Among them, the family car sales champion myth – Sylphy, with its excellent cost performance and market reputation, has cumulatively exceeded 5 million units. The luxury midsize car benchmark – Altima, with its elegant design and excellent performance, has also cumulatively reached 1.9 million units. And the SUV family that meets the needs of the mainstream consumer group has cumulatively exceeded 3 million units with its strong market appeal.
As the latest masterpiece of the Dongfeng Nissan brand, the Terralander not only demonstrates Dongfeng Nissan’s in-depth insight and sincerity towards the Chinese market, but also one of the important measures to improve the high-end product layout of the brand. Coming for the big Chinese family, Dongfeng Nissan Terralander, on the premise of fully presenting the hardcore strength of the overseas version PATHFINDER, focuses on the pain points of high-frequency scenarios of the big Chinese family, further optimizes product details, and tailors high-quality travel solutions. Using real benefits to users, so that adults don’t have to make choices, Terralander has added 3 new-level models, from price to value, from entry-level just-needed to comprehensive experience, allowing the long-awaited owner’s family to truly realize the free choice of two-wheel drive, four-wheel drive, 6-seat and 7-seat. With strong product power and extremely sincere pre-sale prices, in the fiercely competitive market environment, it has firmly established a new benchmark for big family SUVs.
Innovative driving force is the confidence that Dongfeng Nissan keeps on the table
Behind the “Dongfeng Nissan speed” is the solid foundation provided by “Technical Nissan”. In 2006, the Dongfeng Nissan Technology Center (DNTC) was established, which is one of Nissan’s four global R & D centers and undertakes the vehicle development and some styling design work of Nissan, Qichen, and Infiniti brands. As Nissan Motor Company’s fourth technical center with the same R & D platform in the world, the Dongfeng Nissan Technology Center has cumulatively invested 10 billion yuan in R & D expenses. From the initial more than 70 people, it has now grown to a technical team of more than 2,000 people, and has cumulatively applied for 1,402 patents, including 710 inventions. The experimental hardware facilities are at the “head” of domestic joint-venture companies.
The Dongfeng Nissan Technology Center has independently developed a number of technologies and installed the latest technological achievements on its models. For example, the independently developed Vita native pure electric platform has the advantage of ultra-efficient electric drive. The working condition efficiency of the ultra-integrated electric drive is more than 91% at the highest, and the ten-in-one high-integration electric drive has both energy-saving level and continuous output of strong power, and can also achieve ultra-efficient large space, making the cockpit space flexible and changeable, meeting the diverse car usage needs of different users and bringing a more comfortable driving experience.
In addition, through the “GLOCAL new model” that integrates the advantages and experiences of “Global” and “Local”, it will also integrate the comfortable genes of Dongfeng products, conform to the market demand, and conduct in-depth cooperation with a number of leading intelligent enterprises such as Huawei, NVIDIA, Baidu, and iFLYTEK, evolve and upgrade from the aspects of intelligence and driving pleasure, and thus integrate advanced intelligent driving and intelligent cockpit and other technologies to create the ultimate intelligent travel experience around the needs of users. Just as Zhou Feng, vice president of Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd. and deputy general manager of Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Company, said, “At present, the market challenges and competitions are continuous, and the user needs are also changing rapidly. Adhering to the user-centered concept, in the future, Dongfeng Nissan will drive product changes through technology, based on the new model of GLOCAL, and further integrate the local R & D advantages based on Nissan’s global technology and manufacturing quality to create a series of new energy and intelligent products and contribute to a new growth pole of Dongfeng Nissan in the future.”
Based on the empowerment of the “GLOCAL new model”, Dongfeng Nissan plans to launch 7 new energy models by 2026. The first independently developed new energy model of the Nissan brand will be launched in early 2025. At the same time, while deeply cultivating the domestic market, Dongfeng Nissan will also set its sights on a broader overseas market. Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd. will start the new energy export business from 2025, with an initial target annual export of 100,000 units, including 4 independently developed Nissan brand models.
Conclusion: Since its establishment in 2003, Dongfeng Nissan has deeply cultivated in the Chinese market for two decades. Through a deep understanding of the needs of Chinese consumers and a long-term strategic plan, it has successfully built a strong and diversified product lineup. For Dongfeng Nissan, along the way in the past two decades, from scratch, from the initial scale to leading the joint-venture auto companies, successful transformation in the new era is no longer just a possibility.
After 21 years of wind and rain and 16 million sales, this is not a simple accumulation of numbers, but Dongfeng Nissan’s in-depth understanding of the Chinese auto market, and the deep integration of technological innovation and user needs. In the wave of new energy, as a leader among mainstream joint-venture auto companies, Dongfeng Nissan not only accelerates the layout of the new energy track, launches a number of innovative models and the “GLOCAL new model”, but also achieves positive growth in sales, showing strong market competitiveness.
The achievement of 16 million cumulative vehicle production and sales is not only a milestone in enterprise development, but also a new starting point for enterprises to move towards a new future in the new environment and new stage. Standing at the new starting point of 16 million, Dongfeng Nissan will further implement the “to the world” in the brand concept by turning the market experience accumulated in the domestic market and the advantages of local development and manufacturing to the overseas market, and Dongfeng Nissan will also further upgrade.