Nissan Korea's 16-Year Journey Comes to an End

Nissan Korea's 16-Year Journey Comes to an End was a remarkable chapter in the country's automotive history. The company was established in 2002 with a 70% stake held by Nissan Motor Co.

Nissan Korea's first manufacturing plant was built in Busan, South Korea, with an initial investment of $1.1 billion. The plant was designed to produce 120,000 vehicles annually.

The company's success was largely driven by its popular models, including the X-Trail and the Teana. These vehicles quickly gained popularity among Korean consumers, thanks to their affordability and reliability.

Nissan Korea was established in February 2004.

In July 2005, the Infiniti brand was launched in South Korea, with car sales starting soon after.

The Infiniti brand was initially part of Nissan Korea, but it was separated in April 2015, when Infiniti Korea Co., Ltd. was established.

Nissan announced its exit from the South Korean car market in mid-2020, citing the worsening business environment amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2019 boycott of Japanese products in South Korea.

The Infiniti brand was also pulled out of South Korea alongside the Nissan brand by December 2020.

Nissan committed to providing after-sales services, including vehicle quality assurance and parts management, for eight years through its remaining service centers.

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Nissan's Korean operation has languished over the past few years, with sales plummeting from around 9,000 in 2017 to 5,000 in 2019.

The sales of Nissan and premium Infiniti brands in South Korea more than halved from a year ago during the first four months of this year.

Nissan's sales performance in 2019 was much worse than in 2018 due to the Japanese car boycott by Korean consumers, with sales excluding the Infiniti brand falling from 5,053 units in 2018 to 3,049 units in 2019.

Nissan's luxury brand Infiniti sold only 56 units nationwide in April this year, a stark contrast to its sales in previous years.

Nissan Korea currently has 43 employees and 27 service centers, including 13 for the Infiniti brand, which will likely be affected by the company's withdrawal.

Prices of used Nissan cars are expected to plummet as the value of the brand decreases due to Nissan’s withdrawal from the Korean market.

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Nissan Korea's sales performance has been declining significantly over the past few years.

In 2017, the sales of Nissan and Infiniti brands in South Korea reached around 9,000 units. However, this number dropped to 5,000 units in 2019.

The sales continued to decline even further in the first four months of 2020, more than halving from a year ago.

Nissan Korea's sales performance was particularly affected by the Japanese car boycott by Korean consumers, which started last July.

The COVID-19 outbreak also had a significant impact on Nissan Korea's sales, with the company posting a net loss of 671.2 billion yen in its consolidated financial statements for fiscal 2019.

Nissan Korea's sales in 2019 were even worse than in 2018, with the company selling only 3,049 units excluding the Infiniti brand.

The Infiniti brand itself sold a mere 56 units nationwide in April 2020.

Nissan Korea currently has 43 employees and 27 service centers, including 13 for the Infiniti brand.

The company plans to provide after-sales services such as vehicle quality assurance and parts management over the next eight years.

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