Nissan Philippines Lends its Brain to Indonesia

MANILA: The man who singlehandedly won the Filipino war for Nissan Motors, Mr. Antonio 'Toti' Zara will say goodbye to his homeland. For those who haven’t heard of him or his feats, Mr. Zara has served as the chairman for Nissan Philippines (NPI) since 2014 and has brought the company to a respectable position in the market. Several popular Nissan vehicles such as the Navara, Almera, Juke, NV350 and NP300 were launched during his tenure along with a magical 60% increase in sales.

The news, although disheartening for the Philippines, but will be certainly rewarding for the neighbouring Indonesia. As the reason for Mr. Zara’s departure from the country is his appointment as the President Director of Nissan Motors Indonesia (NMI). The next name to fill Mr. Zara’s shoes in the Philippines is still in the shadows and might soon be announced by the organisation. His departure from Philippines was also accompanied with the promotion of several key members of the company’s executive staff as a part of the Nissan Power 88 program.

This also raises several speculations about Nissan’s performance in the Indonesian market, where it faces a tough competition from Toyota, Honda and Mitsubishi. Despite of being a neighbouring country, there are some significant differences in the buyer's tastes with Indonesian buyers being more inclined towards MPVs and SUVs. Nevertheless, if Mr. Zara could bring Nissan Motors on even grounds within a year of his appointment, it would certainly be interesting to see his magic in a populated country like Indonesia.

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