The crisis behind the prosperity of Dongfeng Nissan

In 2017, the Chinese auto market experienced a cold wave, while the Japanese car had a good performance. Dongfeng Nissan was no exception. According to data from the National Passenger Car Information Association, in August, Nissan’s Nissan sales volume was 89,100 units, a year-on-year increase of 17.83%; from January to August, cumulative sales volume was 640,600 units, an increase of 12.95% over the same period last year.

Whether it is a single month sales growth or accumulative sales growth, Dongfeng Nissan has far exceeded the industry average, but analyzing its sales structure will find that the “prosperity” of Dongfeng Nissan has hidden many crises.

The "partial division" obviously changes the price

Dongfeng Nissan has a large number of models, but its sales pillar is still old, whether it is an SUV or a car.

In August, the top four sales of Dongfeng Nissan’s auto models were Sylphy, Qijun, Qashqai and Tianhe. The combined sales of these four vehicles in the first 8 months were 518,100 units, accounting for 80% of Dongfeng’s total sales during the same period. Among them, the sales of the first 8 months of the Sylphy one accounted for nearly 40% of the total sales of Dongfeng Nissan.

It can be said that the reliance of Dongfeng Nissan on a single model is very high, which means that there is not a strong sense of presence of more products. At the same time, these four cars are listed in the old models for many years without exception. On the other hand, Dongfeng Nissan’s relatively new models show poor performance.

In terms of models, the sales of Jinke Motors, which were launched in July, were 3,832 units in August. The average monthly sales of Cemma, which was listed in May last year, was only about 100 units. At the end of 2015, the bluebirds listed currently have sales of less than 4,000 units per month.

New product performance is not good, only in the terminal price promotions; the old model performance is stable, but it is also at the expense of the terminal price. Dongfeng Motor Group’s half-year financial report showed that Dongfeng’s Nissan’s sales increased by 11.48% year-on-year in the first half of the year, while net profit declined by 5.3% year-on-year to RMB7.1 billion.

The market does not buy the rejuvenation strategy

Relying on old products to maintain sales is not what Dongfeng Nissan expects. As early as 2015, the company released a youthfulness strategy called “YOUNG NISSAN”, but two years have passed and it seems to have had little effect.

After launching the rejuvenation strategy, Dongfeng Nissan has launched models such as Bluebird and Simma, both of which are aggressive in design and sporty, but they have eliminated the appearance of seeing people. These two main sports models are not considered “sports”.

Bluebird and Sylphy share the chassis and powertrain, while Cima shares the chassis and powertrain with Scorpio, and both Sylphy and Tianyi are the mainstay of the family car market and are known for their comfort. The blue birds and the Cima who mainly play sports have no difference in actual driving experience from those of Sylphy and Scorpio. Naturally, not many consumers will place orders because of their “sports”.

Such a product layout seems to enrich the product line, but the fuzzy positioning of vehicle model positioning and price segmentation has instead created "internal consumption." For enterprises, these so-called new products have become tasteless.

It seems that Dongfeng Nissan’s understanding of youthfulness seems to be too simple and has not been approved by the market. The newly-launched Jinke was interpreted as an attempt by Dongfeng Nissan to deepen its youthfulness strategy, and its performance is still hardly optimistic.

The rejuvenation strategy of Dongfeng Nissan has not proceeded smoothly, and it will lay a significant hidden danger for the future. In the increasingly younger car market in China, if there is not a successful younger model, the blow to the company may be heavy. .

If the product structure is out of balance and the corporate strategy is lost, if Dongfeng Nissan fails to make adjustments in time, the crisis behind the bustling will intensify.