Nissan Australia Launches Financing Arm

Nissan Motor Co. (Australia) Pty. Ltd. is launching a A$20 million ($15.5 million) financial services arm to support its ambitious growth plans, the auto maker says in a press release.

A wholly owned subsidiary of Nissan Australia, Nissan Financial Services will provide strategic support to the auto maker’s dealer network and competitive financial products and service to Nissan customers, the auto maker says. It will be based in Melbourne and have 25 employees and a regional sales network.

Nissan Australia sells more than 60,000 vehicles annually and has a retail network of nearly 200 dealers.

Nissan Financial Services Executive Director George Leondis says in a statement the full-service operation will open in mid-October.

“We will launch with a suite of competitive financial products for retail and fleet clients, including consumer and business loans and lease products,” he says. “The business is further enhanced with automotive insurances designed with the Nissan customer in mind.

“New product arrivals and plans for continued market expansion mean NFS will play a major role in the brand’s development in Australia,” he says. “This direction is consistent with Nissan’s recent global expansion in financial services including new businesses in China, Thailand and Mexico.”

Leondis says the Nissan finance arm was a strong, profitable business with high brand recognition when it last operated in 1998.