Carmaker Nissan Brazil sold 9,770 vehicles in the first half of this year, growth of 130% over the same period last year. The total number of sales was record in Brazil for the car manufacturer, which has had a Brazilian base since 2002.
The company's target is to sell 18,000 units on the Brazilian domestic market by the end of the year. With greater local passenger vehicle production, the objective is to reach the end of 2009 with 40,000 vehicles sold.
Last year the company sold 11,883 units, double the volume sold in 2006. Among the factors contributing to this growth was the launch of three new models: Nissan Sentra, Tiida and the New Nissan Frontier.
According to figures disclosed by the company, the Nissan Sentra was the model most sold by the company, representing 44% of total sales by Nissan Brazil last year, and 65% of the vehicles were sold in the automatic configuration. Regarding the Frontier pick-up truck, launched at the end of November 2007, the number of units sold exceeded 4,200.
Among the carmaker's plans for sales increase on the domestic market is expansion of the network of dealers in the country, which is currently at 66 points of sale around the country. The target is to end the year with 80 points of sale and, by the end of 2009, to have reached 120. Nissan Brazil plans to release another two models next year.
Nissan has been producing in Brazil since 2002, when the group started making the Frontier. Soon after that, they began production of the Xterra sport utilitarian, in São José dos Pinhais, in Paraná. Over the last six years, the organization has produced 49,881 units of the Frontier and, since 2003, 8,143 units of the Xterra.
According to Brazil's National Association of Vehicle Manufacturers (Anfavea), the auto industry ended 2007 with 2.46 million units sold, which represented growth of 27.8% over 2006.
Anba