“We are working and trying to imagine what the mobility ecosystem is going to be like,” says Rodrigo Centeno Caballero, president and director of Nissan Mexicana, in an interview, explaining that this concept is constantly changing. “Today you ask a boy, ‘what is mobility?’ From the outset he knows what the concept is about and he will answer you with a cell phone, not with a car. We have to compete and operate in an environment that is radically different and that will also continue to change,” he comments.
Among the latent challenges of the mobility sector is that the economy is more complex and that middle class families (Nissan’s market target) are becoming more restricted, because there are more consumer alternatives.
“We have to be looking beyond (the sector) and that is an incredible challenge. (And) if you add the financing chain, the maintenance chain, the distribution chain and everything that represents a very dynamic competitive environment, it has been an exciting year,” he says.
With this panorama, Centeno affirms that they are working on production capacities, the evolution and integration of new products, as well as continuing to strengthen the financial arm Credi Nissan, which in 20 years has provided 2 million automotive loans.
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Another challenge is the technological adoption that the industry is experiencing, because the escalation of technology increases prices a little faster compared to the escalation in terms of disposable income of middle class families.
“How do we do and how do we design financial engineering and high-value schemes that allow us to give our clients access to all that technology that is growing, but at the same time that their disposable income is not affected in a significant way? And that is not about manufacturing and building cars, it is an entirely financial business that we have to mature.”
The bet on Mexico
“Exciting”. That is the word that Rodrigo Centeno Caballero, president and director of Nissan Mexicana, describes his performance in that position for more than a year.
“I feel full of adrenaline and motivation. “I like to solve challenges and problems,” he says. Centeno recognizes that humanity is emerging from a complicated period, marked by the Covid-19 pandemic and the growing demand for mobility solutions.
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With more than 60 years of history in Mexico and this being the fourth most important market for the company, the Japanese company will continue to support the country regardless of the change of government and the reforms that have occurred, such as that of the Judiciary.
“We have always worked hand in hand with whoever represents or holds authority in the country. It doesn’t matter what it is, it doesn’t matter at all, because our responsibility is to Mexico and to the Mexican citizens. Understanding how we can adapt these conditions to what we want, which is Mexico and which is the mobility of Mexico,” says Centeno.
From 2018 to date, according to the manager, the total investment in Mexico is equivalent to 1.62 billion dollars, and he explains that the plans naturally consider potential elements of volatility.
“Volatility is what is here to stay and it is what we have to get used to, we have to learn to operate under these types of scenarios where regulations change, where socio-political conditions also adjust and for that we have to help ourselves and worry about doing our investment and value generation programming that can be perennial over time,” he says.
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In 2022, Nissan announced a three-year investment plan for $700 million in Mexico, focused on the production of the new Nissan Kicks model.
“If our long-term sustainability and investment plans were in any way subordinated to these conditions, Nissan would not be the size of company it is in Mexico today,” he adds.
However, during his years in the country, he argues, the world has changed more than once and the company has had the ability to adapt to those new realities.
“(That) has allowed us to have a very robust ecosystem in Mexico today. That for me, as general director, is a very strong and very solid base of tranquility and peace of mind because it allows me to invite the team to think about different things and that involves understanding and beginning to change our way of expression, and how to communicate with others. generations that are going out more frequently,” he says.
Centeno’s excitement also has an additional reason: the start of production of the Kicks 2025 at the Aguascalientes 1 plant, with the release of this first unit, marks a milestone with a total of 16 million cars manufactured in Mexico.
This plant will be the first to produce this new model globally. In addition, production will be destined for the local and Latin American markets, as well as for export to more than 70 countries. Since its launch in 2016, Nissan Kicks already has more than 143,000 units sold in Mexico.
