Nissan Korea on Friday said it had named Takehiko Kikuchi, 45, as its new chief in an effort to improve sluggish sales. Kikuchi, who will be taking office as of July 1, is a Waseda University graduate who has been with Nissan since 1991.

His career includes marketing executive at Dongfeng Motor Co., Nissan’s joint venture with China, where he was lauded for effectively expanding Nissan’s presence in the region. Kikuchi also oversaw Nissan’s Indian business. Since 2011, he headed Nissan’s Wakayama branch.

Nissan hopes the new chief will help the carmaker turn over a new leaf and put up a better fight against German cars here.

Last year, Nissan Korea sales were more than 40 percent less than the year before. Up to May this year, sales have picked up by 6 percent.

Some say the outgoing chief, Kenji Naito who held his Korean post for more than three years, was withdrawn for poor performance. But Nissan refuted the claims, saying he will be taking part of a major corporate campaign in Japan.

By Kim Ji-hyun (jemmie@heraldcorp.com)