Nissan Philippines is undergoing a leadership change, just a year after appointing its current head. Effective April 1, 2026, Nissan announced the appointment of Yoshinori Kanazawa as President of Nissan Philippines.
Kanazawa, who will be based in Manila, will report to the President of Nissan ASEAN and Thailand, a position that will be held by the current and outgoing Nissan PH President, Masao Tsutsumi. Nissan shared that Kanazawa currently serves as Managing Director of the Nissan Importers Business Unit (NIBU), ASEAN, and Managing Director of Nissan Singapore Pte. Ltd.
As such, Kanazawa oversees Nissan’s importer business operations across Southeast Asia and works closely with regional partners to support market development across the ASEAN region. This will serve as an advantage to Kanazawa as he leads Nissan PH since he is already familiar with the ASEAN region’s market behavior.
Kanazawa also has nearly two decades of experience within Nissan, having held leadership roles across Japan, China, and other international markets. His background includes corporate planning, product planning, and dealer network development. Considering his background, Kanazawa’s appointment as Nissan PH President is timely, as Nissan previously announced that it will be launching new products that will be sourced from China.
As previously reported, Nissan PH is set to expand its model lineup, as it will launch two new models “very soon,” including the Frontier Pro PHEV and the N7 BEV sedan.
The Frontier Pro PHEV is a pickup truck designed, developed, and manufactured in China for the global market. It was developed by Nissan in partnership with its Chinese joint-venture partner, Dongfeng.
The N7 battery electric vehicle (BEV), on the other hand, is the first model built on Nissan Dongfeng’s new modular architecture. The N7 BEV is developed and produced in China. It measures 4,930mm long, 1,895mm wide, and 1,487mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2,915mm. With these numbers, the Nissan N7 is sized larger than the Toyota Camry.
Nissan PH expresses its sincere gratitude to Tsutsumi-san for his leadership and contributions to the company and wishes him continued success in his new role.
Kanazawa’s official inauguration will proceed following his qualification under Philippine laws and confirmation and election by the Nissan Philippines Board of Directors.
Autocar’s Take
Nissan Philippines will have a new President, just a year after appointing a new leader. But when you look at it, the appointment of Yoshinori Kanazawa makes sense, and it could be considered timely, as Nissan PH plans to source vehicles from China. As such, Kanazawa-san’s experience would play a crucial role in making the introduction of China-sourced Nissan vehicles into the local market.
Kanazawa also has a solid background in dealer network development, as per Nissan, which will once again come in handy to enable Nissan to further expand its dealership network in the Philippines. Recently, Nissan PH has expanded its dealer network by opening the new Nissan Calamba dealership.
