Nissan Motor has detailed plans to spend BRL2.6bn (US$1.5bn) on a new car plant in Resende in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro and develop and launch new products.
The Brazilian factory, scheduled to begin production in the first half of 2014, will have capacity for 200,000 units annually of ‘V’ platform products for sale in Brazil. The factory will directly create up to 2,000 jobs, and at least double that within the supply chain and wider community, the automaker said.
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The anouncement came as alliance partner Renault announced a 100,000-unit capacity increase at its Curitiba complex planned for 2013, creating 1,000 new jobs and boosting annual capacity (passenger cars and LCVs) to about 380,000 units a year.
The new plant is a major step in Nissan’s strategy for BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) markets. In June it detailed its ‘Power 88’ mid-term strategy, including plans to become the leading Asian automotive brand in Brazil – the world’s fourth largest auto market by volume – and attain at least 5% market share in the country by 2016.
“Just as Nissan has demonstrated in China, Russia and India, we are investing in the regions with the most potential for growth,” said Carlos Ghosn, chairman and chief executive officer, Nissan Motor. “Brazil has clearly emerged as the engine of Latin American growth, and we look forward to contributing to Brazil’s economic landscape and its automotive manufacturing base in the 21st century.”
Resende was chosen for its proximity to the high-quality ports of Itaguai and Rio de Janeiro, a short time to start of production and good access to skilled labour and suppliers.
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By GlobalDataThis new capacity will be incremental to Nissan’s existing capacity of 59,000 units annually from Renault’s plant in Parana state. That facility will continue to produce the Nissan Livina, Grand Livina, X-Gear and Frontier while also expanding production of Renault models.
Since 2001, Nissan has grown its presence and volumes in Brazil, Russia, India and China from less than 50,000 units to nearly 1.2m units at the end of the 2010 fiscal year.
In Brazil, Nissan has grown significantly in the past two years, more than doubling its market share calendar year-to-date in 2011 to 1.7%. It recently launched the March [Micra] and plans to double the dealer network from 117 to 236 by 2016.
By then, Nissan will have launched 10 new products in Brazil, increasing its market coverage from 23% prior to the launch of the March to over 87% by 2016. In November it will introduce the new Versa sedan to Brazil, increasing its market coverage to 83%.
