Nissan PH: New e-Power, PHEV models could enter market in next three years

Nissan’s struggles in the global market are well-documented. But in the Philippine market, the Japanese brand seems to be in a bubble of its own and is keeping up its performance in terms of sales.

In fact, the Philippines is one of the most profitable markets of Nissan in the ASEAN region. As of March 2025, Nissan Philippines is even ranking third in year-to-date sales, just behind industry leaders Toyota and Mitsubishi. Now with new president Masao Tsutsumi at the helm, they want to keep this momentum going for the upcoming years despite the current challenges the brand is facing.

We spoke to the new Nissan Philippines president recently, and he openly admitted that the 2025 fiscal year will be more of a transitionary phase as the brand is weathering the storm with all the restructuring and workforce optimization happening in the Global HQ. But while they’re at it, Nissan PH intends to focus on strengthening customer relationships and its aftersales performance to get ready for what’s coming ahead.

Tsutsumi said that Nissan Philippines is looking to introduce about 3 to 4 models in the next three fiscal years. That means we could expect a yearly rollout of new Nissan models that would further suit buyer preferences, especially for those seeking electrified mobility.

Among those four models, Tsutsumi said that it could include a new e-Power model and a plug-in hybrid, aside from the traditional ICEs. Furthermore, Nissan PH is also looking to diversify the sourcing of its models, as currently, they only get their units from either Thailand or Japan.

This rather aligns with the fact that Nissan has already received regulatory approval for what's possibly the India-made Magnite crossover. And as for the plug-in hybrid model, there's good reason to believe that it could be the China-made Frontier Pro PHEV that made its debut at Auto Shanghai 2025.

If we remember, the Nissan was one of the first few brands in the market that democratized (read as made affordable) electrified vehicle ownership with the Kicks e-Power, which was Autoindustriya’s Car of the Year for 2022. Now, Nissan plans to follow that one up as demand for electrified vehicles continues to rise in the Philippine market. The brand also anticipates the slower demand for pickup trucks brought by the CMEPA law, which will see the return of excise tax on such vehicles.

As expected, that’s all the new Nissan Philippines president could share for now. But given these developments, there’s good reason to look forward to seeing Nissan keep its position in the market for years to come.