CAIRO: "When the financial crisis ends we will resume our [expansion] plans, said Susumu Uchikoshi, Nissan Egypt's new chairman and managing director, who took over early this month. At a press conference last week, Nissan introduced its new chairman and launched a new pick-up model called "El-Brengy El-Gedeed. The last product Nissin introduced to the Egypt market was the Murano. "Our network includes 17 dealers with 26 showrooms, 17 workshops and 24 spare parts outlets all over Egypt, said Uchikoshi. Mahmoud Halawa, Nissan's general manager of marketing and sales, said that the reason Nissan chose not to participate in the taxi replacement program is because the company felt Egyptians would not like to have a private car that is the same brand as the capital's taxis. "This would lead to brand degrading, he said. On the other hand, Halawa said the company "will be interested to participate in the [proposed] microbus replacement initiative when lunched, Nissan is coping with the financial crisis well, he added, with sales in the year to March totaling 14,100. Responding to questions about whether Nissan achieved its aggressive expansion plans, namely to up exports to Arab countries, Mohamed Gamal, senior manager of public relations and communication, said "exporting to Arab countries was one of our goals when Nissan Egypt was founded in 2005. Nissan Middle East in Gabal Ali, United Arab Emirates is more focused on the Middle East [market], he said. Uchikoshi was the deputy managing director of Nissan Egypt before being appointed the managing director earlier this month.
