Nissan continues push for switching to EVs in PH

As co-presenter for the 9th Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit, Nissan Philippines showed how the brand is pushing forward with its electrification strategy for the Philippines.

The brand presented the next phase of its EV strategy for the country in the virtual industry event, following the launch of the fully-electric Nissan LEAF last May.

“Now that the Nissan LEAF is here, the next phase of our electrification plans for the country involve continuously educating the public about the benefits of EVs, while making the Nissan LEAF accessible to more parts of the country through our Nissan EV dealerships,” says Atsushi Najima, Nissan Philippines President and Managing Director.

In a video presentation during the annual EV industry event, Nissan showed the nationwide reach of its electrification strategy by having Cebu City as a backdrop to discuss its vision for sustainability.

In a recent trip to the Nissan’s Cebu South V. Rama dealership, Najima discussed ways on how the dealership can further educate its customers on owning and maintaining a Nissan LEAF.

“As a pioneer EV dealer, we face a challenging yet exciting task of educating our community on the benefits of sustainable mobility,” says Michael Goho, Executive Vice President of Gateway Group, Nissan’s EV dealership partner. “It takes passionate and dedicated people who believe in sustainable mobility to make EV adoption and a reality,” he added.

Nissan Philippines currently offers the Nissan LEAF in six EV dealerships around the country, namely Nissan Cebu, Nissan Mantrade Makati, Nissan Otis, and Nissan Global City, Nissan Tagum and Nissan Matina.

With Nissan EV dealerships having charging stations free and exclusive for the use of LEAF customers, the brand established the widest and largest EV charging infrastructure network in the country. This network of EV dealerships and charging stations is expected to keep growing as the brand offers the Nissan LEAF in more parts of the Philippines in the future.

With the right product and places to put its electrification strategy into action, Nissan is now looking for potential partners to amplify the brand’s goal of creating a sustainable and resilient society. Nissan sees collaborating with government and the private sector as the next step towards fully realizing its vision.

Najima cites the company’s Blue Switch program in Japan as the potential next chapter of electrification strategy for the Phillippines. Launched in Japan last May 2018, the Blue Switch project built partnerships with various private and public stakeholders in Japan to promote the use of electric vehicles and address social concerns such as disaster response, energy management, climate change, and eco-tourism.

“We are not just offering our customers a zero-emissions vehicle with the Nissan LEAF, and a nationwide EV charging network through our EV dealerships. We are also looking at building a network of partners here in the Philippines for sustainability and resilience, unlocking the potential for EV technology to address social concerns,” Najima says.