{"text":[[{"start":9.38,"text":"Vehicle sales for Nissan and Stellantis in the Middle East have fallen to around half their prewar levels, laying bare the hit to demand caused by the US-Israeli war against Iran."}],[{"start":20.61,"text":"Guillaume Cartier, chief performance officer at Nissan, told the FT that falling demand in Gulf markets had become more of a problem than logistical disruptions. The Japanese carmaker’s Patrol sport utility vehicle is one of the region’s best sellers."}],[{"start":37.849999999999994,"text":"Overall sales in the region fell 40 per cent in March, according to Nissan. In specific local markets, demand was down 40 to 60 per cent, Cartier said on the sidelines of a strategy event on Tuesday."}],[{"start":52.78999999999999,"text":"“We’re managing to get almost everything we need in. The real question is what happens to demand.”"}],[{"start":59.68999999999999,"text":"On Wednesday, Stellantis, which owns the Peugeot, Fiat and Jeep brands, also said shipments in Gulf countries decreased by more than half to around 3,000 units during the first quarter even as overall sales increased about 12 per cent year-on-year. "}],[{"start":76.58999999999999,"text":"The estimates from the two groups are the clearest indication yet of the scale of the regional fallout to the automotive sector nearly seven weeks after the conflict began."}],[{"start":88.83999999999999,"text":"Carmakers from Toyota to Volkswagen have been struggling with logistics given the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Cartier said Nissan was able to ship vehicles to the Middle East by routing them to accessible ports in Fujairah and Jeddah."}],[{"start":106.46999999999998,"text":"In addition to a direct impact on sales in the Middle East, Mercedes-Benz has told investors the higher fuel prices caused by the conflict have led to some consumer hesitation in buying vehicles in the US, according to analysts."}],[{"start":120.25999999999999,"text":"The Gulf is a sizeable market with 1.3mn cars sold annually, according to Nissan. Its importance to Nissan, which holds more than 10 per cent share of the market, is outsized since the large SUVs it sells in the region are highly lucrative. The carmaker said sales were making a recovery in April."}],[{"start":143.14,"text":"The demand drop had meant Nissan was adapting production of models that would have been sent to the Gulf for other markets, said Cartier. One example is changing some of the parts in the Patrol to manufacture the Armada, which it sells primarily in North America."}],[{"start":160.71999999999997,"text":"Cartier said he had expected the drop in demand to be even steeper considering the big role of fleet buyers such as businesses, car rental companies and government agencies. "}],[{"start":173.14999999999998,"text":"His comments came after Nissan’s chief executive Ivan Espinosa unveiled the company’s long-term growth strategy that involves cutting 20 per cent of its vehicle line-up, bringing AI capabilities to 90 per cent of its future models and exporting China-made electric cars."}],[{"start":192.95,"text":"As part of the vision, Nissan is betting on deepening international collaboration with its Chinese joint venture partner Dongfeng to bring the battery-powered N7 to Latin America and south-east Asia and the plug-in hybrid Frontier Pro pick-up truck to those two markets plus the Gulf. "}],[{"start":213.52999999999997,"text":"The Japanese carmaker is aiming to lift combined sales and exports from China to 1mn units by 2030, up from 660,000 last year."}],[{"start":226.45999999999998,"text":"Additional reporting by Kana Inagaki in London"}],[{"start":239.94,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1776265141_9777.mp3"}