Nissan declares Zim an important market

Japanese vehicle maker Nissan Motor Co Ltd (Nissan) says Zimbabwe has become one of the major markets in sub-Saharan Africa for its Nissan Navara vehicle.

Locally, single and double cab Nissan Navaras are the brands of choice for the government, parastatals and corporates.

The four Nissan dealerships in Zimbabwe are currently forecasting sales of 1,500 vehicles for the year, up from 1,300 in 2023. They are actively working with local financial institutions to expand credit options.

Nissan Cloverleaf Motors, AMC Motors, Amtec Motors and Croco Motors make up the four official Nissan dealers.

Nissan, through its subsidiary Nissan Africa, is currently in an effort to promote the Nissan Navara vehicle in the local market as part of an effort that spans the 42 sub-Saharan countries it serves.

“I have to praise this market. “Zimbabwe has been one of the most important markets for Navara overall and it is one of the few markets where we have been dominating with leaders like Toyota and, in some ways, Isuzu coming into the picture,” said Nissan Africa, managing director of Southern, Northern and Central Africa. said Linda Mazimhaka in a recent interview with businessdigest.

“But we have managed through the difficult economy that we know people in Zimbabwe live in. We have managed to be resilient to offer good performance, for which I congratulate the distributors.

“What we do, generally, is about 11,000 in sub-Saharan Africa in those 42 markets per month and we’re up to 17,000, which is our target for this financial year.”

He said that while it was a daunting task, the company felt that with its local dealers promoting the product, which can meet the needs of motorists, in terms of comfort and safety, the brand could achieve such figures.

“In Zimbabwe, and my dealers would love to know, we are talking about 1,000 units of the Navara a year, which is a bit of an exaggeration compared to where we come from. However, we have all the potential to reach that figure,” said Mazimhaka.

It said its aim in the market was to offer a range of Navaras to the market in single or double cab versions.

Nissan Africa operates a manufacturing plant in South Africa, where it produces the Navara brand along with its other vehicle models, which are distributed in Zimbabwe and 41 other countries in the sub-Saharan region.

Nissan Sub-Saharan Africa communications head Nthabiseng Mokoape-Motsepe said the brand has consistently maintained the first or second position in Zimbabwe year after year.

“If you remember, in the past we have had some problems with vehicles that are imported, gray imports into the country that are not intended for these roads,” he said.

“So while we were doing our feasibility studies, when we were building this vehicle in South Africa, we strengthened the suspension and we have a large suspension on this vehicle with other features of this vehicle.

“It can be used for both leisure and business, so it’s a two-in-one that supports our audience and the customers we target,” Mokoape-Motsepe said.

While gray imports are cheaper, their performance usually cannot be trusted due to their age.

However, motorists have turned to gray imports as purchasing new vehicles remains very expensive for most people in Zimbabwe.

Nissan Africa has been selling the car brand on the continent for 60 years.