Nissan Annual Report 200460
declining sales as a result. Still, we do see potential in new
areas within the market. For example, we increased the
number of women employed as “carlife” advisors and
technical advisors. We did this to put both women and older
customers at ease when they have sales and service
issues. Both types of advisors are important to our sales
and service at a dealership because they make the process
more transparent and understandable. Service is a very
profitable part of business in Japan, so taking ours to the
next level is crucial. 
We have two plans to expand sales in a flat market.
The first is to develop a more efficient marketing strategy
that is aligned with our quality products. The second is to
build a more efficient dealership network, which will boost
customer satisfaction. If we succeed at these, we can raise
both our sales and our customer retention rate.
Our dealers are reporting that the quality of our
vehicles has improved greatly. We knew this from the
upstream side, but it means a great deal to get
confirmation from the market. Quality is always a risk factor
in Japan; consumers here are unforgiving about quality
problems. The Internet has accelerated the ability to share
information, both good and bad, so the level and rate of
information from dealers and consumers have gone up
accordingly. Meanwhile, even prices for used Nissan
vehicles are improving steadily, a major indication that the
Nissan brand is recognized and valued. 
Our home market is of prime importance to Nissan.
Japan is a major contributor to our total profit, and we will
continue to make the upgrades in quality, products and
service needed to drive sales and profit higher.”
JAPAN
“Nissan’s performance in
Japan in 2004 was solid.
Profit rose 1.4 percent and
our market share went up
0.4 percent to 14.6 percent.
Launching six new models in
the second half boosted our
results dramatically: we
registered a 1.1 percent
increase in market share
over the previous period.
And for the first time in 19
years we had four cars—the Tiida, Note, March and
Cube—in the top ten. 
Our steady growth has continued into 2005,
powered by positive customer response to both the
Murano and Tiida. These are the kinds of attractive,
unique products that have an immediate impact on
consumers. We’ve also strengthened our position 
in the important small car market, and plan to
augment that with the launch of the Otti, an OEM
project with Mitsubishi, and the Moco, an OEM
product with Suzuki. While we do need to raise our
game in the SUV market, our overall coverage has
improved recently.
We’ve set an ambitious sales target of 933,000 vehicles
for 2005, which represents an increase of 10 percent. I’m
confident that we can achieve this because of the strength
of our product lineup. The recently released Serena
underwent a full model change, for example, which should
give us more muscle in the minivan market. We also
recently decided to offer our entire lineup through both our
blue and red sales channels, so customers will be able to
see every model at any outlet they visit. This is in stark
contrast to the traditional dealership system in Japan,
which has many different sales channels. 
The aging of the population has made the automotive
market in Japan much tougher, and we expect flat or even
Driving Ahead in a Flat Market
KAZUHIKO TOIDA
Senior Vice President
OUR WORLD
TIIDA SERENA