Dongfeng Nissan recalls 680,000 vehicles and accelerates electrification in 2018

Due to safety issues related to the braking problem, Dongfeng Nissan officially launched a recall plan for approximately 689,000 vehicles on February 28, 2018. The models involved include Dongfeng Nissan’s popular brands such as Sylphy and Tiida.

In addition, media news recently said that a high degree of camouflage spy photos of a group of suspected Dongfeng Nissan pure-electric vehicles were obtained from official sources. The models resemble the new Sylphy.

In fact, as early as in November 2017 at the Guangzhou Auto Show, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. once brought a new generation of Nissan Pinnacles for pure electric models to debut, and revealed that it will introduce the world's leading EV technology into the Chinese market.

The so-called spy photos of the so-called pure electric vehicles that are being exposed are the EV models that Dongfeng Nissan will launch in 2018? In response, Dongfeng Nissan insiders talked about the company’s plans for the production of pure electric vehicles. They told the “China Business” reporter that “EV cars are not confirmed at the moment. For Beijing Auto Show, there may be related progress disclosure. determine."

The main model has been hidden

It is worth pointing out that the spy photos exposed by the network resemble Dongfeng Nissan's main model, the Sylphy. The Sylphy Series is Nissan’s best-selling model in the China region and has been a leader in the sales of all types of Dongfeng Nissan vehicles.

According to the statistics of sales monthly reports disclosed by Nissan’s official website in China, the sales volume of the Sylphy series of vehicles during the period from February to December 2017 exceeds 368,000 units, accounting for more than one-third of the total annual sales of Dongfeng Nissan.

In the recall plan initiated by Dongfeng Nissan on February 28, 2018, the Sylphy models were impressively on the list. In addition, the best-selling vehicle model in the Dongfeng Nissan channel is also recalled.

According to public information, the vehicles recalled by Dongfeng Nissan are mainly some of the new bluebirds produced by the company from April 6, 2015 to July 21, 2017, Shinsida, Shinsei Daida, and Sylphy/New Sylphy. 689031 vehicles.

Talking about this large-scale recall plan, Dongfeng Nissan told reporters that “according to the interests of customers, we are responsible for the quality of products and responsible for the safety of customers. The company follows the regulations of the recall regulations of the state and follows the vehicle recall procedures. , initiate a recall plan for all relevant vehicles."

Three ambitions of the joint venture

For the Dongfeng Nissan recalled 689,000 vehicles for maintenance will affect the company's 2018 sales? Dongfeng Nissan responded to reporters and said, "It will not have a significant impact on Dongfeng Nissan's market sales in 2018."

Judging from its sales in 2017, Dongfeng Nissan (including Nissan imported models including Nissan) had a cumulative sales volume of 1,122,407 units in 2017, an increase of 10.6% year-on-year. As Nissan’s core sales channel in China, Dongfeng Nissan’s total sales in 2017 accounted for 73.86% of Nissan’s total sales in China.

For the future development plan, in the middle of 2017, Dongfeng Nissan has publicly stated that it is necessary to challenge the top three joint venture brands in 2022. All along, SAIC Volkswagen, SAIC General Motors and FAW-Volkswagen have secured the top three positions in the industry. According to the data compiled by Gasgoo, SAIC Motor’s annual sales volume of passenger cars won the championship of 2,063,057 in SAIC Motor in 2017. SAIC Motor’s general sales volume was 1,988,980 units, which was close to 2 million, while FAW-Volkswagen’s sales were 1957,188 units. In terms of sales volume of passenger cars, Dongfeng Nissan also had a SAIC-GM-Wuling in front, ranking fifth in the same category as in 2016.

“Dongfeng Nissan is relatively difficult to sprint for the top three car makers of joint-venture brands. If SAIC-GM-Wuling ignores it, the individual volumes of SAIC-VW, SAIC-GM and FAW-Volkswagen are currently close to or over 2 million units. Dongfeng Nissan only has 112 There are large gaps of around 10,000 vehicles, and now China's overall auto market has entered a slight increase, and it is difficult to achieve greater growth under such circumstances.” Zhang Yi, an expert in the automotive industry, bluntly stated.

In order to spur the first three joint ventures, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd.) (hereinafter referred to as “Dongfeng Co., Ltd.”) and Dongfeng Nissan’s own Dongfeng Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. have thrown out an accelerated development plan for electric vehicles while Nissan has accepted the slowdown in the growth of the industry. .

Nissan speech wind is missing in China for many years

In fact, for the development of electric vehicles, Nissan has always been at the forefront of the world, and its Nissan Rider with EV technology is the earliest electric vehicle developed and sold, and it has become one of the best-selling electric vehicles in the world. However, under the background of the introduction of electric vehicles by Chinese automakers and the domestic production of electric vehicles, the Nissan LEAF, which already has mature technologies, has not been able to achieve mass production in China.

“Before, when communicating with high-level multinational car companies, we learned that the reason why multinational car companies have not tried to push new energy vehicles in China is because they think the business opportunities have not yet arrived and the market is still immature,” said Zhang Yi.

The existing models of electric vehicles introduced by Nissan in China have not been sold under Dongfeng Nissan, and the Kaichen Morrowind launched by Dongfeng Qichen has been regarded as the shadow of the Nissan Leaf in the market.

As early as 2011, Nissan Leaf entered the Chinese market with imports. At that time, China had already guided the development of new energy, but Nissan Leaf did not start production in China. In November 2017, a new generation of Nissan Pinyeon appeared at a high-profile appearance at the Guangzhou Auto Show, but China did not include China among the first listed countries announced in September 2017.

Jia Xinguang, executive director of the China Automobile Dealers Association, pointed out that the Nissan Leaf is not pure electricity. It is an extension vehicle. At present, domestic policies do not mention the increase in the number of cars and there is a policy gap. It is a problem that the extension of a car should be placed in an energy-saving vehicle or a new energy vehicle. "The Nissan speech must be introduced into China, or it must be produced in China, and the import cost is too high."