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Nissan plans to start production at Vietnam venture at year end
Nissan Motor Co., Japan’s third-largest automaker, will begin production in Vietnam as part of a joint venture at the end of the year, the company said on its website Tuesday.
The venture with Kjaer Group A/S is expected to begin selling Vietnam-assembled vehicles in 2010.
The Japanese carmaker holds a 26 percent stake in the venture, Nissan Vietnam Co., and Kjaer owns the rest, the release said.
Flemming Eltang, General Director at Nissan Vietnam Co., said his company’s understanding of Vietnamese culture and consumers had led the firm “to believe that the Nissan brand will be a good fit here.”
“The offering of locally assembled products will accelerate our business in Vietnam and lay the foundation for further growth,” said Shinya Hannya, Nissan’s corporate vice president of global overseas markets (GOM) planning department, GOM marketing and sales (Asia, Oceania).
The venture opened in December 2008 and has begun importing and distributing Nissan vehicles, parts and accessories through its dealers.
Nissan, 44 percent owned by Renault SA, increased 1.38 percent to 586 yen at the 3 p.m. close of Tokyo Stock Exchange trading Tuesday.
Seventeen automotive producers or assemblers already have operations in Vietnam, including Ford of the US, and Honda and Toyota of Japan.
Their total vehicle sales in May were 8,761, down from 11,494 a year earlier, according to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers' Association.
In May, Nissan announced its first annual loss in almost a decade and said it expected to stay in the red this year because of slumping sales. The company is cutting 20,000 jobs to cope with the global crisis.
thanhnien
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