NIssan PH electrifies as one of the leading brands of 2021, charges up for the future

MANILA: Nissan Philippines celebrated 2021 with new releases and exciting events, achieving multiple milestones for the brand and further solidifying their goals of sustainability by celebrating with its annual media thanksgiving event held yesterday, January 27, 2022. 

"The year 2021 was a tough time for the entire industry, but despite the challenges we faced, we're grateful that Filipinos continue to trust Nissan with their mobility needs. This has inspired us to continue our mission of enriching the lives of people with our innovative vehicles and top-notch customer service," said Atsushi Najima, Nissan Philippines' President and Managing Director.

Transformative 2021

The iconic Japanese brand powered through a rough 2021 amid a staggering amount of adversities that hobbled most companies due in large part to the ongoing global pandemic crisis. Thanks to Nissan Philippines’ resilience and innovative strategies, 2021 proved to be quite a success for the brand.

Leading the marque's banner year are multiple major launches of Nissan Philippines’ core models such as the the all-new Almera, Terra, and Patrol — all featuring advanced driving safety features more particularly Nissan Intelligent Mobility which is a suite of active and passive safety features to improve not only safety but as well as the overall customer experience. The arrival and subsequent launch of the Nissan Leaf, the world's first mass-market electric vehicle (EV), also propelled safer, smarter, and more sustainable driving in the Philippines.

Thanks to the new releases, Nissan was able to capture the number-three spot in the local market share rankings, which is unprecedented for the brand.

With Nissan Philippines’ partnership with the Department of Tourism (DOT), the brand re-energized the "Safe Trips" campaign utilizing its diverse and capable lineup of vehicles not only to jumpstart and promote the local tourism industry and businesses but to also take everyone out of the rut of being in a quarantine lockdown, showing us that, yes, life still does go on. 

Beautiful and exciting road trips to Ilocos and Boracay using Nissan Philippines’ lineup of vehicles, the brand tagged select members of the media, various stakeholders and representatives from the Department of Tourism. These excursions highlighted the strengths of the brand’s roster of amazing vehicles and at the same time reintroduced the beauty and awe of these various tourist destinations, revitalizing the great Filipino roadtrip. 

These events not only showcased the beauty of the Philippines but highlighted the importance of civic duty and social responsibility with various and meaningful outreach programs. The Nissan Leaf’s capability to be used as a power generator was also highlighted, providing electricity to disaster-struck provinces in the aftermath of Typhoon Odette at the tail end of 2021.

Driving to a sustainable future

After the successful milestone year for Nissan Philippines, the brand is yet again charging up for another one for 2022 by declaring the "Blue Switch" initiative in the Philippines. 

Blue Switch is the next phase of our electrification plans built on Nissan Ambition 2030, the company's long-term vision for empowering mobility by strengthening our aim of becoming a sustainable company that drives towards a cleaner, safer, and more inclusive world. Blue Switch is focused on building key partnerships that address social concerns with the use of electric vehicle technologies. 

The initiative started in 2018 in Japan, and focuses on partnering with government and private stakeholders to promote and encourage the use of electric vehicles to address social concerns like energy management, ecotourism and disaster response. In Europe and all throughout the world NIssan, along with its partners Renault and Mitsubishi Motors, is spearheading the mass-market production of EVs as well as connected mobility.

During the event, Nissan invited the Senator Sherwin Gatchalian to deliver a keynote address on sustainability and the future of EVs in the country. This was followed by a panel discussion from esteemed guests to show their support for the initiative. These included Nestor Archival, Cebu City Councilor and sustainability advocate; Edmund Araga, President of the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines; Ferdi Raquelsantos, President of the Electric Vehicle Owners Society; and Michel Goho from the Gateway dealer group, the exclusive Nissan Leaf distributor in the country.

Together, they discussed the potential benefits of electrified mobility and how it can be successfully integrated into society while addressing social concerns in the areas of tourism, the environment, and emergency response. The latter was recently demonstrated during Typhoon Odette when Nissan and Councilor Archival used the Nissan Leaf and Power Mover units to help affected communities in Cebu. A similar effort was also done in Tacloban in partnership with the local Nissan dealership in the province. The EV's vehicle-to-load (V2L) technology was able to provide electricity from its battery, allowing residents to charge their mobile devices and contact loved ones. Nissan Philippines also brought the Nissan Leaf in Boracay as part of its Safe Trips campaign which has evolved to also advocate for ecotourism and to encourage sustainability through adapting more eco-friendly options such as using electric vehicles as a mode of transportation. In addition to continuous knowledge building and sharing in the market about EVs and its technology, Nissan also aims to raise awareness on its other practical benefits and uses.

"When we integrate EV technology into society, we can unify people, systems, and our goals as a nation. EVs can boost tourism, protect the environment, help us respond to emergencies faster, and help enrich the lives of many people. We are looking to turn this dream into reality this 2022 and we can do this by working together," concluded Najima.

Photos by Roy Robles, Nissan Philippines

Also read: ‘Nissan Ambition 2030’ to deliver innovative EVs and technologies to empower mobility and beyond