Nissan is joining the ranks of joint venture brands exporting from China to international markets. On December 17, Nissan China Investment Company announced a collaboration with Tsinghua University to establish a joint research center. This initiative aims to leverage China's research and development resources to accelerate the development of electric vehicles and introduce China-developed and manufactured models to the global market.
Amidst a continuous decline in demand for fuel vehicles in China, multinational automakers like Nissan are shifting their focus to overseas markets. They plan to use China's comprehensive industrial chain as an export base to address the excess capacity of fuel vehicles. Some companies also hope to capitalize on China's early lead in the electric vehicle sector to expedite their own transformation.
Nissan's Vice President and President of Nissan China, Masashi Matsumura, mentioned that the company is considering exporting existing internal combustion engine vehicles and upcoming pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles to foreign markets. This move would position Nissan to compete with Chinese rivals like BYD and Great Wall Motors in the same international markets.
Nissan's decision aligns it with multinational brands like Tesla, BMW, and Ford, which are expanding the export of China-manufactured cars.
In detail, Nissan announced the establishment of a research center with Tsinghua University, focusing on electric vehicle development, including charging infrastructure and battery recycling. Nissan's President and CEO, Makoto Uchida, stated that this partnership would deepen the company's understanding of the Chinese market and help develop strategies to better meet the needs of Chinese customers.
Before establishing this research center, Nissan had collaborated with Tsinghua University since 2016 on intelligent mobility and autonomous driving technologies.
Nissan is not the only joint venture brand utilizing China as an export base. In October, Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën Automobile announced it would become an important global export base for its foreign shareholder, Stellantis Group, manufacturing in China for global sales.
Dongfeng Nissan also established an export division in the same month, driven by a dedicated team to promote overseas business. Additionally, the Kia factory in Yancheng, Jiangsu, is transforming into a global export base for Kia, aiming to increase its annual export volume to over 200,000 units by 2026.
In August, Dongfeng Group announced a new partnership with Nissan to support the development and production of Nissan's pure electric models, utilizing Dongfeng's newly developed pure electric platform. This platform, supporting various drivetrains and body types, is expected to facilitate the development of multiple models, accelerating the electrification transformation to reverse declining sales.
Over the past year, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in the Chinese market has accelerated, accompanied by a prolonged and intense price war. Japanese brands, including Nissan, have experienced varying degrees of sales decline in China.
Data released by Nissan China shows that from January to November this year, including both passenger and light commercial vehicle segments, Nissan's cumulative sales totaled 694,900 units. This figure represents a 28.7% decline compared to the same period last year, when sales reached 974,700 units.
