Nissan @ 60 – Continuing the Legacy in Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya – After 60 years proudly serving the people of Kenya and East Africa, Nissan Group of Africa's head of operations and sales Jim Dando has told government, business and media leaders here, the Japanese automotive manufacturer is proud of this unique legacy.

He announced a raft of new initiatives, and introduced the Nissan Navara; a vehicle purposely built and spec'd for Africa.  

Speaking at the inaugural Nissan Experience held in Nairobi's world-famous national park, Dando said the automotive giant was expanding its presence in Kenya, "Nissan Kenya is our official partner in country, with full sales, spares and service dealerships in Nairobi, Mombasa and Nakuru with one under construction in Kisumu. We also have a further nine sub-contracted dealerships."

Dando said the company remained fully committed to working with the government of Kenya to create a legislative environment conducive to assembling vehicles in the country once more. Nissan will be co-hosting the inaugural Kenya Automotive Summit in May, which Dando described as "a critical event on the road to understanding and unpacking the challenges of creating sustainable and internationally competitive indigenous African automotive industries".

Further proof of Nissan's commitment in East Africa, Dando said, was the fact the company had opted to site its regional East African office here in Nairobi with a locally based regional general manager to ensure real time, involved and on the ground management.

"This is a country where the minibus taxis are still known as Nissans, whether they are or aren't. It just illustrates a single aspect of our incredible legacy here which we are all immensely proud of and very keen to build on for everyone's benefit."

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About Nissan Motor Co
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Japan's second-largest automotive company, is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, and is part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Operating with more than 244,500 employees globally, Nissan sold almost 5.2 million vehicles and generated revenue of 10.5 trillion yen (USD 105 billion) in fiscal 2013. Nissan delivers a comprehensive range of more than 60 models under the Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun brands. In 2010, Nissan introduced the Nissan LEAF, and continues to lead in zero-emission mobility. The LEAF, the first mass-market, pure-electric vehicle launched globally, is now the best-selling EV in history with almost 50% share of the zero-emission vehicle segment. For more information on our products, services and commitment to sustainable mobility, visit our website at http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/

About Nissan in Africa
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. supplies innovative and exciting cars across the hatchback, SUV, sedan and pickup segments in Africa.  Nissan has three operational hubs on the continent: Egypt and South Africa - both of which have long established factories –and Nigeria. The Nigeria plant is the result of a partnership between Nissan and local Stallion Group, formed after the government introduced new policies to stimulate the local industry. Production of the first Nissan vehicles started in April 2014. In doing so Nissan became the first OEM automaker to build cars in Nigeria. Nissan is revitalising its sales network and expanding its product range in many countries with launches of new vehicles like the award-winning Qashqai and X‑Trail. The Nissan LEAF is Africa's first electric vehicle, bringing zero emissions motoring to the continent. In 2014 the Datsun brand returned to Africa with the launch of the Datsun GO in South Africa. Nissan is targeting significant growth on the continent. In fiscal year 2013 the company sold nearly 110,000 units in Africa. Under its Africa Growth strategy, Nissan is targeting a 10% market share in Africa by 2017 with sales of 200,000 units.