NISSAN No.1 FOR THREE YEARS IN ROW

10.02.2008 / Dubai - Cairo
Not only are Nissan cars winning some of the most important SUV comparison test in Egypt, but they are also out-performing its competitor in Lebanon.

Nissan Middle East celebrated the success achieved by RYMCO, its official distributor in Lebanon, securing No. 1 market leader position for the third year in a row.

Abdo Sweidan, CEO of Rasamny Younis Motor Co. (RYMCO), received the award on behalf of his company from top executives from Nissan HQ in Japan as well as Nissan Middle East management.

RYMCO is one of the leading vehicle retail dealerships in Lebanon, representing both Nissan and Infiniti brands. The award was also given to RYMCO in recognition of its contribution to consolidating Nissan’s brand equity in the Lebanese market.

“What has been achieved in Lebanon is a huge success. Generally, the entire region is witnessing remarkable growth, and we have surpassed our targets ahead of schedule and by a large margin”, Gilles Normand, Corporate Vice-President Nissan Motor Co. Ltd told a gathering of Nissan Middle East office in Dubai.

He laid particular stress on the significant increase in sales in a number of overseas markets, including Russia, China and the Middle East.

“Our achievement is a signal of our confidence in the Nissan brand and winning mindset. We have great products to sell and service, and the challenge was to grab the top position in sales. To come second was not an option for us at all”, said Abdo Sweidan, CEO of RYMCO.

He said the uphill task of gaining the top position in a competitive market like Lebanon started in 2005. “In 2004, Nissan was in the second position. In 2005, we scored the first position. 2006 was the year we repeated our success with slightly higher sales. At the end of 2007 we managed to keep our #1 position and strengthen our market share up to 19%”, he revealed. He said many more challenges lie ahead in 2008, but they were confident to continue their strong sales momentum.

Lebanon is seen as a trend setting market in the Middle East and a top tourist destination for GCC travelers.

Nissan Middle East anticipates retail sales in the territories that fall under its jurisdiction will register remarkable growth in the fiscal Year 2007(April 20007-March 2008).

“Nissan Middle East estimates retail sales in its territories in the fiscal year 2007 (April 2007 to March 2008) will reach 184,000 units, representing a 35 per cent growth compared to the fiscal year 2006”, commented Toru Hasegawa, Managing Director of Nissan Middle East.

“Nissan has the largest SUV lineup of any auto-manufacturer in the region, giving customers an option to suit every lifestyle and budget. Add to this a superb range of award-winning passenger cars such as new recently-launched all-new models, such as the Altima sedan and coupe, the Xterra, Qashqai and Navara SUV’s, have been a major boost to Nissan’s profile in the region,” added Hasegawa.

In Egypt, the locally-assembled X-Trail 2.5 was recently able to win the prestigiuos SUV comparision against the other locally-assembled 4x4s,the BMW X3 3.0 and Jeep Cherokee 3.7 conducted by our print magazine Auto Arabia (English Edition).