Last year it was rumored that Nissan wanted to slow down its activities in Europe. Nothing could be further from the truth, says the brand new CEO of Nissan Motors Europe, Jordi Vila, in a conversation about the electric future of the brand.
Last year there was more focus on China, Japan and the United States, which created the feeling that Europe is becoming less important to Nissan. How did that turn out?
“The Nissan Next plan has many facets and review of priorities is certainly one of them, focusing on a number of core values. The focus on those three specific regions is indeed part of that, but that does not mean that we are abandoning other regions, including Europe. Let that be clear. On the contrary: the plan contains very concrete objectives that should strengthen our presence in the European region to what I would call a reasonable market share, but especially in the area of customer satisfaction with products and services.
That doesn’t mean achieving volume growth at all costs, but looking at the products and services demanded by customers in each specific region. The first requirement to achieve that, apart from all sorts of other things that you can discuss, for an automobile manufacturer is good products and good technology. That forms the basis of Nissan Next. So are we going to grow in Europe? Yes. Are we going back to a million cars a year? No. I will not give you a precise objective, but we want a significant presence in Europe, and in the Netherlands in particular. That will succeed thanks to cars like the new Juke, the Qashqai, the Ariya, the X-Trail and more. But not only with models, but also with new technologies, such as e-Power and, at a later stage, solid state batteries. We are moving faster than the market in the direction of electrification. It is a trend that is stimulated in part, but not only by regulation. I myself have worked in markets such as the Netherlands and Scandinavia, where the transition can go very quickly. We were pioneers with the Leaf, which was launched before 2010.
Nissan Ariya
Full electric is important to us, not only in the Leaf, but also in the Ariya and other future models. However, we are also developing hybrid technology, where we distinguish ourselves from the rest with e-Power. It has the best of both worlds: the car is powered by the battery, but at the same time there is no range anxiety thanks to the engine backup. It is already on the road in Japan, but I have already driven the versions developed for Europe, which have been adapted to the driving needs here. ”
And that while brands like Ford and even Jaguar have recently announced that they will no longer build combustion engines at all in the short term.
“That is transition. Is five years short? It just depends on how you look at it. It seems like a slow revolution, but a technician will call it a fast revolution. It suddenly goes very fast with you in the Netherlands. This is of course largely caused by fiscal management, but it is not only that. Consumers are asking for new technologies and I also believe that there is an awareness that we need to take a new path, a growing climate awareness. As manufacturers, we have to offer good opportunities in return. Back to your question: we have fully electrical technology in house, which in the medium term – although, for an industry that has existed for more than a hundred years, that is a short term – will be the way to go. Until then, we have alternatives that are tailored to the current situation. We are now in 2021, there will be milestones in 2025 and 2030. That still seems a long way off, but for a technician it is not and we are preparing for it. ”
You were one of the pioneers behind the Leaf, which became one of the first electric bestsellers. What was the secret to that success?
“Innovation is in Nissan’s DNA. You can see that in the field of design with our crossovers, but also in the field of technology. We were already involved in electric driving well into the last century. We had a vision of EVs and I remember from that time when we got a lot of criticism over us. However, we looked further ahead and realized that the internal combustion engine does not have eternal life. Fast forward, without condemning other manufacturers: Dieselgate came and that accelerated the transition goals. At that time we had the advantage that we already had a good position in electric driving. Not only because we had a good car on the market, but also because we were already busy training our dealers how to deal with electric mobility, both technically and commercially, by explaining how to inform buyers. The latter is very important, because of course you have a certain action radius. You should not want to sell such an EV to everyone and be honest about the benefits, but also about the limitations of electric driving. That is one of the secrets of success.
Nissan Leaf
Furthermore, it was not about the car, but about the ecosystem. That is why we put in a lot of work in the field of recycling of battery materials, infrastructure and vehicle to grid solutions. That is very interesting for fleets. We also lobbied governments to convince them of the importance of a good infrastructure and we made alliances with companies and organizations in the public sector, including in the Netherlands. ”
Competition has since grown rapidly. What must Nissan do to maintain that lead?
Above all, we must remain ourselves and stick to our DNA. That is Japanese, so quality, but also innovation. We know the EV through and through, both the technology and the world around it. We know the users, both private and business, and their needs. Don’t forget that the Leaf is the world’s best-selling EV, by far. However, new models will be added, starting with the Ariya, which will start production at the end of this year. I can’t say much about what comes next, but there will be more electric models. You can already see from the Ariya that electric Nissans are becoming less conservative than some of the competitors. ”
I have never heard you mention the name Renault once. Where Renault works with E-Tech, Nissan has its own technology with E-Power. How so?
“We do work together. For example, we share the alliance’s CMF platform, as well as engines and parts of vans. There is a lot of synergy, but at the same time each brand determines its own positioning and therefore the choice of the type of technology is entirely up to the brand itself. I think that’s a good thing because it avoids confusion and preserves brand distinction, while retaining the benefits of scale. More focused on E-Power: Nissan is a global brand. E-Power started in Japan and we have experienced it as an excellent technique if you adapt it to the region where you sell it. It also gives Nissan what I call a silver bullet, a unique thing that also benefits the customer. ”
Nissan Qashqai
What does the Netherlands mean for Nissan as a forerunner in the transition?
In any discussion about electrification, the Netherlands is one of the most important countries for us, at European and even global level, not only in terms of fully electric cars, but also electrified versions. The Leaf did well at an early stage, for private transport, business, but also taxis. The Qashqai is also successful with you and we expect a lot from the Qashqai E-Power and the Ariya. Good infrastructure is everything for EVs. When you visit neighboring countries with an EV from the Netherlands, you notice that soon enough. ”
Finally, how do you see mobility in fifteen, twenty years?
It will look very different in five years, but in the medium term you will be dealing with a new generation. I am thinking of my children, now in their twenties. They already have a completely different view of mobility and will soon be important consumers. Or private individuals will soon buy cars? Yes, that is not going to disappear, but alternative forms of mobility, such as combined forms of car sharing and many others, will certainly grow in importance. I do not believe that we will switch completely to a different mode of transport. That is why we as a manufacturer must offer all possibilities: purchase, rent, lease and co-ownership. The customer chooses. The transition will be different everywhere, per customer and even regionally. Living in the city or in the countryside creates different transport needs. We have to combine traditional car ownership with new systems. It is impossible to predict how fast it will go, but I dare say that in twenty years’ time more than half of the cars will be ‘owned’ in an alternative way. That’s how I see it for dealers: their role will change, but there will be room for actual contact between brand and customer. ”
Jordi Vila
Jordi Vila (1963) was born and raised in Barcelona. Since August 1, 2020, he has been divisional vice president of marketing & sales at Nissan Motors Europe. His career at Nissan started in 1989, where he held management positions in Italy, Spain, Scandinavia and Nissan Netherlands, among others. Until last summer, Vila was senior vice president of marketing & sales for the Asia and Oceania regions.