Nissan is looking to revive itself from an updated product line and sharp change in corporate … [+]
Nissan Motor Co.
A senior Nissan Motor Co. executive denied a published report the automaker was in discussions with Apple
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“We’re not in any discussions with Apple,” said Nissan Senior Vice for U.S. marketing and sales President Michael Colleran during a virtual meeting of the Automotive Press Association on Tuesday, in answer to a reporter’s question. When pressed Colleran offered no specific elaboration but said the company is “open to conversations” with tech companies and would only enter into partnerships if it benefits both sides.
Michael Colleran, Senior Vice President Nissan U.S. marketing and sales.
Nissan Motor Co.
Colleran’s cold water on the reported talks echos an earlier statements to that effect by the company and comes on the heels of reports of talks between Apple and Hyundai/Kia that were also denied by the South Korean automaker.
For Nissan, such talks might be a distraction from its ambitious turnaround plan it calls Nissan NEXT. In discussing the plan, Colleran said its “not a slogan” but an operational plan that’s “about changing our product, changing our culture, changing our business from the ground up.”
Regarding product, he noted Nissan unveiled 10 new vehicles and plans to roll them out in the marketplace over the next 20 months including the Sentra and Rogue which are on sale now.
Colleran said those two vehicles are off to good starts with market share for the Rogue up 7.4% and transaction prices for the crossover up 22%. For the compact Senta, Colleran said its retail market share is on the rise, increasing by 0.7%.
He was especially excited about the arrival later this year of the latest iteration of the Nissan Z car which Colleran said would be true to the company’s DNA but offered few other details aside from mentioning it would be powered by a twin turbo V6 engine. Why offer a new passenger car when the market has moved solidly toward SUVs, crossovers and pickup trucks? “When people drive their vehicles today they still. want a little get up and go,” he explained.
On the business side, he said dealers are carrying less inventory. Instead of cranking out vehicles to fill dealers’ lots, Colleran explained the company has increasingly turned to building vehicles based on customer orders.
“‘It’s about listening,” Colleran said. “Moving the culture from a push culture to a pull culture.”
The company is predicting industry wide sales for 2021 to come in around 16.2 million vehicles which Colleran said represents a continuing bounce back from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic noting the industry “recovered faster than anyone thought.”
Another culture/business change for Nissan is embracing the industry wide move to more digital sales and service through its Nissan at Home online shopping tool. Colleran noted more customers are going further into the shopping, purchasing and financing process online.
While the move to digital had begun before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Colleran said that situation accelerate that move “by at least a couple of years.”
On the technology side, he said Nissan’s advanced driver assistance technology called Pro Pilot would eventually include a hands-free driving feature but gave no timeline.
For a company that’s gone through the chaos of former CEO Carlos Ghosn’s departure and arrest leading to internal upheaval along with a period of stalling sales, it appears Nissan’s course is righting itself and finding youth and energy from a revived product line.
“We will become a very young brand,” said Colleran. “In the space of a year, going from one of the oldest to one of the youngest.”
