Nissan’s Chinese joint venture Dongfeng Motor has announced a new medium term business plan which it hopes will propel it to 2.6m annual sales a year by 2022 (from around 1m pa currently).
The company, a 50-50 joint venture between China’s Dongfeng Group and Nissan Motor Co., aims to be among the top three joint venture automakers and the ‘most sustainable brand in China’.
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The new mid-term plan, titled DFL TRIPLE ONE Plan, was developed following DFL’s record 1.52m vehicle sales in 2017. It says the result was fuelled by strong demand for the Nissan Sylphy series, X-Trail, Qashqai and Teana; the Venucia, T90 and D60; and the Infiniti Q50L, QX50 in the passenger vehicle market, as well as the Nissan Navara and the Dongfeng Duolika and Captain in the light commercial vehicle market.
“In the last seven years, DFL undertook ambitious plans to grow sales and revenue – which it succeeded in doing through significant investment, a dynamic workforce and the introduction of 32 models for the Chinese market, including the creation and growth of the local Venucia brand,” said Jun Seki, president of Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd. He said the company has made and delivered more than 15 million vehicles in China over the last 15 years, since the joint venture was established in 2003.
“Our expectations for the next five years are no less ambitious,” Seki added. “We’ll work to become the most respected company in China and the premier automaker for Intelligent Mobility in the country.”
DFL TRIPLE ONE Plan is described as aligning fully with DFG Plan 2020 as well as Nissan’s midterm plan, ‘Nissan M.O.V.E.’ to 2022. DFL says it will ‘focus on the company’s progressive work to boost vehicle sales by 1m units and to lead in the area of Intelligent Mobility through’:
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By GlobalDataIntroducing more than 40 models, from premium to light commercial vehicles (LCVs), to support growth
- Threefold volume increase for Venucia and INFINITI
- Twofold increase for LCVs, pickups and frame SUV, and the export business
Leading Intelligent Mobility technology advancement
- Through deploying Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), ProPILOT, e-parking and connectivity technologies in all brands in China.
- With further relaxation of government regulations, DFL plans to introduce level 1 and level 2 autonomous driving technologies in China starting in 2019.
- Venucia to lead connected technologies and expand to other brands
Electrification
- More than 20 electric models (zero-emission and e-POWER) to be introduced across all brands; six models in 2018 and 2019 across the Nissan, Venucia and Dongfeng brands
- 30% of all DFL sales in 2022 will be electrified
- Through providing electrified driving performance with class-leading connectivity and autonomous driving capabilities, INFINITI will have 25% of its portfolio electrified in 2022, transitioning to 100% by 2025
- Introducing and localizing industry-leading e-component technologies to China
“Harnessing the power of zero-emission technology, e-POWER, Intelligent Driving and Intelligent Integration, we’re well-positioned for the competitive and rapidly changing motoring landscape in China,” Seki said. “With our new midterm plan, we have the road map to guide us through the shifting terrain ahead.”
While DFL TRIPLE ONE Plan will keep the company focused on its aspirational business goals, the company will also step up efforts to become the most trusted company in China – with a renewed commitment to corporate social responsibility that addresses education, the environment, poverty, sustainable development applying the “DFL Green 2022” initiative, corporate governance, and people and leadership development.
The company is committed to investing RMB 60 billion (about 1.0 trillion JPY) over the next five years in manufacturing, products, R&D, human resources, CSR and the environment to support its sustainable growth.
Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd. (DFL) at a glance
Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd. (DFL), founded on June 9, 2003, is an auto joint venture with registered capital of RMB 16.7 billion.
Dongfeng Motor Corporation and Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. each hold a 50% share.
Headquartered in Wuhan, DFL is headed by Yanfeng Zhu, chairman of the board, and Jun Seki, president.
Seven business units are under DFL: Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Company; Dongfeng Venucia Vehicle Company; Dongfeng Infiniti Motor Co., Ltd.; Dongfeng Automobile Co., Ltd.; Zhengzhou Nissan Auto Co., Ltd.; Dongfeng Motor Parts and Components Group Co., Ltd., and Equipment Company of Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd.
DFL’s main production bases are distributed in Hubei, Guangdong, Henan, Liaoning and Jiangsu.
Overall sales volume in 2017 was 1.5m vehicles, and the company reported year-on-year growth of 12%.
