Dongfeng Venucia Motor Company, traded asVenucia, is a subsidiary of Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd. established in 2017 and focused on the marketing and production of cars.Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd. is a joint venture of Dongfeng Motor Group and Nissan. The Venucia marque, launched in September 2010, was originally owned by Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle, itself another subsidiary of Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd.
History
In September 2010 Dongfeng Nissan unveiled a new marque, Venucia, to be used to sell vehicles developed and designed by the company in China specifically for the domestic market. In November 2011 Dongfeng Nissan announced that the first car to be sold under the Venucia marque would be the D50 mid-class saloon, and that it would go on sale in the first half of 2012. Dongfeng Nissan unveiled a production version of the Venucia e30electric car at the 2012 Auto Guangzhou motor show. An earlier version, the Venucia E-Concept was unveiled at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show. Initially, the electric car was scheduled for production in China by 2015, and it has the same bodywork, dimensions, electric-drive specifications and shares other features of the Nissan Leaf. Dongfeng Nissan planned to start a pilot project in 15 Chinese cities to promote Venucia e30 jointly with local governments. A total of 216 units were delivered through December 2013. These units are being marketed as Venucia Morning Wind and they are rebadged Leafs since local production has not begun yet. In April 2014 Dongfeng Nissan announced that retail sales of the Venucia e30 were scheduled to begin in September 2014. Dongfeng Nissan launched its second production model, the R50 five-door mid-size hatchback car, in September 2012. The R50 was designed in China and is aimed at first-time buyers. The Venucia Viwa concept car was unveiled at the Shanghai Auto Show in April 2013, previewing a new production car based on the platform of the Nissan March. The R30 was subsequently launched in 2014. In its first two years of sales, Nissan claimed 200,000 Venucia cars had been sold. In January 2015, the T70 was launched, a compact SUV based on the Nissan Qashqai. In February 2017, Venucia was spun off as a separate subsidiary of Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd. That same year, the company launched a new mid-sized saloon, the D60, which was the first vehicle incorporating a new design style for the marque.
Design and manufacturing
At first, Venucia's cars were designed directly by Dongfeng Nissan. In 2014, the company announced it would establish a separate facility in Guangzhou aimed exclusively at designing Venucias, called Venucia Design Centre, which was opened in June 2016. In April 2018, Dongfeng Venucia opened an advanced design centre in Shanghai. The Venucia vehicles are assembled at plants located in Guangzhou and Zhengzhou.
Marketing
The first marque slogan for Venucia was "reading the world in a pleased China". At the 2013 Auto Guangzhou, the marque introduced a second slogan, "vibrant life, within reach". There also was an English-language slogan, "enjoy more". In 2017, the Venucia company introduced the English-language slogan "Better for Better" and the Chinese-language slogan "ingenious craftsmanship, going with you". That same year, the company unveiled a revised marque logo, replacing the original five stars on a deep blue background for a similar but simpler design. In February 2014, Venucia agreed to sponsor the Guangzhou Hengda until January 2016, with the club promoting Venucia's model line-up. The sponsorship ended in December 2015, after Dongfeng Nissan sued the Guangzhou Hengda for breach of contract because the club allegedly did not include Venucia advert on the team kit as agreed. The Guangzhou Huadu District Court ruled in favour of Dongfeng Nissan. In June 2015, Venucia sponsored the International Vertical Marathon. In January 2019, Dongfeng Venucia signed an official sponsorship agreement for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Products
The following Venucia vehicles are currently available in China:
