With the continual saturation of vehicle market shares in China, the competitions among the domestic vehicle markets become more and more violent. While the independent brands of vehicles struggle for the living space due to the compression of imported and joint-stock brands, they intensify the exploitation of overseas markets as if by mutual consent, which is required by the international diversified vehicle markets and multi-route development of independent brands.

As one of the most important parts of independent brands in Nissan Global LCV Production Base and Dongfeng Group, Zhengzhou Nissan has won the good reputations and higher market shares in domestic light-duty commercial vehicle market with its dual-brand features, meanwhile the vehicle demands from wide overseas market are also attracting the attentions of Zhengzhou Nissan, but its dual-brand overseas development route is doomed to be unique.

Foot-hold promotion of network construction, development of Nissan’s cooperative distributor

The overseas business of Zhengzhou Nissan is later to start, and its exportation is limited due to the joint stock. After the formation of Zhengzhou Nissan’s dual-brand features and exploitation of Dongfeng brand product line, Nissan widens the limitation of exportation gradually, and agrees to open its partial overseas sales network—this is the first case in the joint-stock vehicle enterprises.

Then, in 2008, in order to exploit the overseas light-duty commercial vehicle (LCV) market more effectively, Zhengzhou Nissan specially established an overseas business department, whose main responsibilities include the market analysis and regulation certification, establishment of overseas sales service network, establishment and perfection of after-sales system, extension of brands and subsidiary vehicle type products or other overseas sales activities. Over four-year development, the Overseas Business Department of Zhengzhou Nissan has established the distribution and after-sales service networks, and even overseas factories in over 20 countries (regions), which sell Dongfeng brand and Nissan Cabstar brand products, including the pickups, SUVs, MPVs and CDVs, etc, mainly by exporting the whole vehicles. At present, Zhengzhou Nissan has achieved the good reputations in the Chinese traditional vehicle exportation markets in Africa, Middle East and Middle South America, etc, and continually develops the emerging markets in East Europe or Southeast Asia, etc.

Port shipment of Zhengzhou Nissan’s products

By upholding the ideas of “Participation in the Market other than Foreign Trade” and laying stress on the sustainable development, the Overseas Business Department of Zhengzhou Nissan adheres to “foot-hold” network development strategies, actively lays its distribution network, and establishes the stable distributor cooperation system. As described in “Good tools are prerequisite to the successful execution of a job”, Zhengzhou Nissan did not participate in “foreign trade” exportation for the short-time benefits but laid more vigor on the network buildup and after-sales service guarantee during its overseas business development, and made full use of global sales service network of Nissan Auto, thus a healthy and stable global distribution network is gradually formed according to the such ideas.

Rapid advancement of overseas sales volume, supply of after-sales service guarantee

Due to particular and effective network expatiation at earlier stage, the overseas sales volume of Zhengzhou Nissan keeps in continual development, and its main dealers’ sales volume is greatly increased. After 850 Rich pickups were exported to Venezuela in 2011, Zhengzhou Nissan achieved a large order of 7000 Rich pickups again from Venezuela in 2012. In 2011, the whole vehicle exportation of Zhengzhou Nissan was increased up to 70%, which exceeded the average whole vehicle exportation of 49% greatly in our country, of which the sales volume of pickups was always at a high stable place, and the sales volume of CDV vehicles was quickly increased and became the main sales vehicle type after putting them into market in 2010, while the Nissan Cabstar light-duty trucks of Zhengzhou Nissan exported to the global markets had achieved the outstanding results in their sales volume, which also indicated the importance of Zhengzhou Nissan sufficiently as Nissan global LCV production base.

In order to realize its long-term development, its preliminary work is not only important, and the satisfactions and brand reputations of customers are indispensable. Therefore, Zhengzhou Nissan specially organizes almost forty overseas distributors from Turkey, etc to carry out a field survey in Zhengzhou factory, and the distributors are improving their cognition to Zhengzhou Nissan’s brands and products by knowing the factory and production line fully. For the after-sales service guarantee, Zhengzhou Nissan pays important attention to it, too. In 2011, for the technical problems of Rich, Cabstar type and E3S-P system, etc, Zhengzhou Nissan has completed 3 several-day training courses separately for the distributors from almost ten countries, solved the technical difficulties of distributors really, and increased the distributors’ satisfactions to Zhengzhou Nissan, while Zhengzhou Nissan has established the overseas hotline telephones in five sales areas of the world, and carried out the customers’ satisfactions survey project in order to receive the after-sales feedbacks effectively. The relevant persons in charge of Zhengzhou Nissan specially point out that the after-sales service system must be continually improved, securely sold by the distributors, and securely used by the overseas customers.

Over the several-year continual efforts in overseas business development, Zhengzhou Nissan has won not only the market recognitions but also many praises due to the powerful support for Dongfeng Group’s overseas business. In 2012, the subject of Zhengzhou Nissan “Deepen the Overseas Business Strategies, 70% Rise again Compared with Last Year” was honored with 2011-year special president prize of Dongfeng Motor Group Company Limited.

However, all this is only a start. In May, 2012, Oting and Rich products, etc produced by Ethiopian KD Plant of Zhengzhou Nissan were put on local market, which is the third KD plant of Zhengzhou Nissan put into production after Angolan and Sudanese plants. All these KD plants will become important supporters of Zhengzhou Nissan’s overseas sales volume. In June, 2012, the director of Overseas Business Department of Zhengzhou Nissan called Zhao Hongwei and his subordinates visited the markets in three countries in Middle East, which is the foreplay of Zhengzhou Nissan for entering into Middle East markets. In 2012 to 2016, Zhengzhou Nissan will be increased from 8,000 vehicles to 28,000 vehicles as per its planned exportation, realize its annual average increase rate of 37%, and increase its overseas exportation to 15% total sales volume of Zhengzhou Nissan in 2016 it has new targets and plans for exported vehicle types, after-sales system and market strategy start-up, which is called as Zhengzhou Nissan’s Overseas Business Department on wider development road.

Due to the excellent performances of overseas markets and strong confidence for LCV overseas markets, Zhengzhou Nissan wishes to become a leading enterprise of Chinese LCV exportation, and its products have become the high-quality competitive international famous brands. At present, at the strategic transformation occasion of Dongfeng overseas business “large coordination and high development”, Nissan is laying increasing stress on its businesses in China, and believes that the Overseas Business Department of Zhengzhou Nissan is increasing the effects of its dual brands, while combining with the performances of its domestic markets, so as to realize the optimization of its brands.