From May 2001, Renault products will be sold in Australia with the support of Nissan. The aim is to sell 3,500 units in 2001 and 5% market share in 2007 with the introduction of an innovative product range. Thanks to the Alliance synergies, Renault will strengthen its presence in Asia Pacific region to reach 200,000 annual sales in 2010.
In order to support Renault's return to Australia, Nissan Motor Australia (NMA) established 'Vehicle Distributor Australia' (VDA) as a 100% subsidiary to distribute Renault vehicles. Mr. Leon Daphne, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nissan Australia has been appointed as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of VDA.
The company will launch the Clio Renault Sport, the Megane Cabriolet, the Scenic, and the Scenic RX4 in May. And other models, such as Laguna II, will be added to complete its products range later in 2001.
Fifteen dealers -- four in Sydney, three in Melbourne, two in Brisbane and one each in Canberra, Adelaide, Hobart, Perth, on the Sunshine Coast and in Geelong - mainly selected from the current Nissan sales network, will start to sell Renault vehicles from May 2001. The network will gradually be increased.
Nissan recorded a sales volume of 45,278 and a market share of 5.8% in Australia in the year 2000.
Renault-Nissan Alliance synergies
Asia Pacific CCT (Cross Company Team), gathering specialists from both Renault and Nissan, has identified growth opportunities resulting from the perspectives of AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Agreement) to be implemented from 2003 among Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand and the WTO progressive application to Taiwan and China. With the new ambitions of Renault's brand in Australia, and after the announcement of close co-operation between Renault and Nissan in Japan (announced in April 2000) and Taiwan (in December 2000), the Asia Pacific region is another strong example of the commercial synergies achieved by the Alliance.
Nissan has a historically strong presence in the Asia Pacific region. Including Japan, Nissan sold 951,571 units in the region in 2000. To leverage this experience, Renault decided to establish the new Asia Pacific Division as of June 1st 2000 and to transfer its headquarters from Singapore to Tokyo at the same time for better cooperation with Nissan. Renault Asia Pacific is a division of Renault, which covered six markets in 2000 - Japan, Malaysia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Singapore and Tahiti. Sales in 2000 accounted for 7,500 units. Australia and Taiwan will be added in 2001.
In keeping with the Alliance spirit, the brand identities of both Nissan and Renault products will remain completely separate. The marketing of Renault vehicles enables the Nissan distribution network to attract new customers by extending its product offering and to improve efficiency by increasing total sales volume.
Supported by Nissan's strong presence
Renault's plans to expand its sales in Asia Pacific are in line with its objective of selling four million vehicles annually worldwide by year 2010. Thanks to the Alliance, the Renault Asia Pacific Division development plan is supported by Nissan's knowledge of Asian Pacific markets and Nissan's strong and long established commercial position in the region.
The development plan will mainly rely on the marketing of four passenger cars (Clio, Kangoo, Scenic and Laguna) and three light commercial vehicles (Kangoo Express, Trafic and Master) to which additional models could be proposed depending on market opportunities.
In line with this plan, Renault is finalizing its comeback in Indonesia. According to upcoming study results, additional markets will be progressively added to this scope.
In order to become one of the leading brand in terms of after sales and service to customers and to provide high quality after sales training, Renault last year invested 500,000 USD in a new 9000 square feet after-sales Regional Training Center in Singapore, with training sessions in English, Chinese, Malay, Thai and Japanese.
In order to achieve LCV sales and customer satisfaction, "business centers" will be created to take care of professional and fleet clients.
In terms of industrial strategy, Renault owns 15% of Inokom in Malaysia, with an annual capacity of 20,000 units. This CKD facility assembles the Permas, based on the Renault Trafic. Renault is studying to eventually increase the CKD capacity, thanks to Malaysian market development and the future AFTA implementation.