Nissan Motor Philippines is putting its game face back on as it plans to introduce three new models - two sedans and one sport-utility vehicle - in the local market this year.

The first sedan will be launched in April, while the SUV and the other sedan will be out after the May elections, Nissan Motor Philippines president and chief executive Allen Cheng said.

Nissan Motor Philippines assistant vice president Steven Hu revealed the company is launching the Nissan Sentra 2.0-litre manual and CVT variants in April. The other sedan is the Nissan Teana 2.5-litre V6, a higher variant over the currently available Teana 2.3. The Nissan X-Trail is slated for a mid-year launch. Like the current X-Trail, it will be assembled in the car manufacturer's plant in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

The series of launches scheduled for 2010 follows almost two years of drought on the part of Nissan Motor Philippines. The last vehicle it launched was the Nissan Grand Livina in the second half of 2008. "With three new models, we hope to reach a 20 percent growth in sales from less than 3,000 units last year," Cheng said.

Data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers in the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) showed Nissan Motor Philippines sold 2,395 units in 2009, 18.6 percent lower than its sales in the previous year.

Aside from lower sales in 2009, Nissan's lack of new offerings in last year also caused it to drop a notch lower in CAMPI's ranking. Nissan Motor Philippines closed 2009 on the 10th spot with a total market share of 1.8 percent from 2.4 percent in 2008.