Nissan Philippines

Also known as: NPI · Nissan Philippines, Inc. · Nissan PH · Nissan Motor Philippines (predecessor company and related operations) · One Nissan (organizational program)

Automotive

Definition

Nissan Philippines, Inc. (NPI) is the national sales company of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. in the Philippines, responsible for the marketing, distribution, and after-sales servicing of Nissan vehicles in the country. Founded on September 23, 2013, and announced on December 12, 2013, NPI was formed as a joint venture to consolidate the previously separate Philippine operations of Nissan — the passenger-car distributor Nissan Motor Philippines, Inc. (NMPI) and the commercial-vehicle assembler and distributor Universal Motors Corporation — under a single company that began operating as the sole national sales company in 2014. (Nissan Global Newsroom, Nissan Philippines, CAMPI)

NPI is owned 51 percent by Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., 24.5 percent by Universal Motors Corporation, and 24.5 percent by Yulon Philippines Investment Co. It is headquartered in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, and sells an import line-up — including the Almera, Navara, Terra, Patrol, Urvan, and Kicks e-Power — sourced from plants in Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, and China, following the closure of Nissan’s own Laguna assembly plant in March 2021. (Nissan Philippines, Wikipedia, Inquirer Business)

Identities

Source Type	Identity
Wikipedia	Nissan Motor Philippines
Wikidata	Nissan Motor Philippines (Q17052609)
DBpedia	Nissan_Motor_Philippines
ProductOntology	Nissan_Motor_Philippines
Wiktionary	Nissan
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH)	N/A
MeSH	N/A
NCBI Taxonomy	N/A
AGROVOC	N/A
Google Scholar	Nissan Philippines Almera assembly Universal Motors consolidation national sales company
ConceptNet	N/A
OpenCyc	N/A

Also Known As

NPI
Nissan Philippines, Inc.
Nissan PH
Nissan Motor Philippines (predecessor company and related operations)
One Nissan (organizational program)

Examples and Analogies

The Single Front Door: Creating NPI was like two rival franchisees of the same brand merging their stores into one flagship — instead of separate sales organizations for passenger cars (NMPI) and commercial vehicles (Universal Motors Corporation), customers deal with one national sales company pursuing a “One Nissan” experience. (CAMPI)
The Assembler Turned Contractor: After 2014, Nissan’s local manufacturing continued through third parties, with NMPI itself renamed Univation Motor Philippines, Inc. in October 2014 — a carmaker’s brand staying on Philippine-built vehicles while the factory ownership changed hands. (Wikipedia)
The Third Exit from Santa Rosa: Nissan’s 2021 departure from Laguna assembly followed Ford in 2012 and Honda in 2020, like the last of three tenants leaving the same industrial park as rents — in this case, production costs — rise. (Inquirer Business)

Usage Scenarios

1. Buying a Nissan Vehicle Today

A customer purchasing an Almera or Kicks e-Power from an NPI dealership buys an imported vehicle; after the March 2021 closure of the Santa Rosa plant, Nissan’s Philippine line-up has been supplied from Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, and China. (Inquirer Business, Wikipedia)

2. Fleet Procurement of Commercial Vehicles

Businesses sourcing the Navara pickup or the Urvan passenger van historically received Philippines-assembled units from the Universal Motors Corporation assembly operations; these nameplates are now part of NPI’s import line-up following the consolidation and the end of local assembly. (Wikipedia)

3. Dealership After-Sales Standards

Vehicle owners across all Nissan showrooms and service centers receive a uniform service standard, an outcome NPI described as the goal of its “One Nissan” consolidation. (CAMPI)

Strategies

Consolidate brand control by taking a 51 percent majority stake in the national sales company while retaining Universal Motors Corporation and the Yulon group as minority partners. (Nissan Global Newsroom, Wikipedia)
Rebuild customer satisfaction after the merger — NPI topped the J.D. Power 2014 Philippines Customer Service Index with 844 points, the highest after-sales satisfaction score among new-vehicle owners at the time. (CAMPI)
Rationalize production regionally, ending assembly at the Laguna plant in March 2021 and sourcing from Thailand and Japan while, under the Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance, reports indicated Nissan frame-based models could be contract-built at Mitsubishi Motors Philippines’ Santa Rosa plant. (Inquirer Business, Wikipedia)
Compete in a market where NPI held a 6.38 percent share as of early 2024, trailing Toyota and Mitsubishi, by focusing on crossovers, pickups, and electrified models such as the Kicks e-Power and the Leaf. (CAMPI)

Security and Safety Measures

Independent Crash Testing: The Almera has received four-star ASEAN NCAP ratings, including a 2025 assessment with a cumulative score of 74.74, giving buyers an independent benchmark for the brand’s entry sedan. (ASEAN NCAP)
Orderly Plant Wind-Down: The 2021 closure of the Laguna assembly plant was executed with the Department of Labor and Employment’s retrenchment process, covering the plant’s 133 workers, rather than an abrupt shutdown. (Inquirer Business)
Regulatory Compliance: Imported vehicles are registered with the Land Transportation Office, and NPI operates as a member of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, reporting sales under the joint CAMPI–Truck Manufacturers Association industry tally. (CAMPI)

Historical Context

Nissan’s Philippine history began in 1969, when Universal Motors Corporation became the authorized assembler and distributor of Datsun vehicles. In 1983 Nissan formed Pilipinas Nissan, Inc. with Marubeni, which was renamed Nissan Motor Philippines, Inc. (NMPI) in November 1991 and came under the control of Taiwan’s Yulon group in September 2000; NMPI assembled models such as the Sentra, Cefiro, and, from 2013, the Almera at its Santa Rosa, Laguna plant. (Wikipedia)

In September 2013, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. created Nissan Philippines, Inc. as its sole national sales company, announced that December, and unified distribution from 2014 with NMPI renamed Univation Motor Philippines and continuing as an assembler under contract. NPI’s Laguna assembly ended in March 2021 — Nissan becoming the third automaker to leave Santa Rosa after Ford and Honda — with the Almera thereafter imported from Thailand. (Nissan Global Newsroom, CAMPI, Inquirer Business)

Challenges and Controversies

End of Local Assembly

NPI’s decision to shut the Laguna plant in March 2021 displaced 133 workers and drew criticism as the third assembly closure in Santa Rosa in under a decade. Nissan attributed the move to the expiration of its assembly contract with Univation Motor Philippines and the difficulty of sustaining low-volume local production, but the episode fueled national debate over the decline of automotive manufacturing jobs. (Inquirer Business)

Market Position and Consolidation Strains

Nissan’s Philippine sales have remained in single-digit market share — 6.38 percent as of early 2024, behind Toyota’s 46 percent and Mitsubishi’s 18.94 percent — even after the 2013–2014 unification that was meant to make the brand “bolder and more proactive.” Observers have questioned how much the merger of two distribution organizations could achieve without competitive products and continued local production. (CAMPI, Nissan Global Newsroom)