Dealers Blast Nissan CEO, Deliver 'an Hour and a Half of Reality'

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

Japanese executives traditionally take company failings very personally, often performing penance in the wake of scandals and downturns. In the case of fresh-on-the-job Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida, his punishment for the automaker’s dismal financial situation and tumbling sales was an earful from a group of angry U.S. dealers.

The dealers let Uchida have it during a recent meeting at Nissan’s U.S. headquarters — the first such meeting since Uchida’s elevation to CEO late last year. It’s not like he didn’t ask for it.

According to Automotive News, Uchida specifically asked for brutal honesty from the group of retailers. “I’m here to listen, don’t hold anything back — even if it’s hard for me to hear,” the CEO reportedly told the group.

What followed was an hour-and-a-half rundown of every gripe dealers have with Nissan, ranging from concern over brand image (it’s too low-rent) to weak residual values and untimely product updates. The automaker’s efforts to pull back on incentivization also doesn’t sit well with dealers. They want money to help move product, a change in the automaker’s compensation plan for dealers, as well as more help on the marketing side.

While Nissan continues holding the line on fleet sales and reduced incentivization — an effort aimed at boosting residuals and placing the struggling automaker on a more solid financial footing — it hasn’t done anything for brand sales, especially in the United States. Volume shrunk 9.9 percent in 2019, with sales weighed down by an even worse-performing Infiniti.

As 2019 drew to a close, reports emerged of Nissan scrambling to cut costs wherever savings could be found, including on air travel. A two-day January furlough of U.S. workers only served to highlight the company’s desperation.

One dealer claimed the room demanded more autonomy for the company’s U.S. business, much like Volkswagen of America asked for — and got — from its rigid parent company. As one retailer is quoted as saying, “if you don’t [provide] all the resources today, the check later on is going to be even greater.”

Nor did the dealers like Nissan’s focus on high-tech things. Consumers, they said, want to know what a brand can do for them, and U.S. advertising should reflect this. “Our technology message is getting lost in translation,” is a comment one source recalls. “Self-driving cars may be great in Japan or different parts of the world, but [in the U.S.], people are not responding to it.”

While Uchida reportedly told dealers he has “a plan” to fix Nissan’s ills, without divulging much more than that, the group gave the CEO credit for showing up and taking the heat. The situation is the inverse of when Carlos Ghosn headed the company.

“No one in the room ever dared tell Carlos Ghosn what he didn’t want to hear,” one dealer said.

[Image: Nissan]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Inside Looking Out Inside Looking Out on Jan 21, 2020

    My solution to Nissan problems: 1. Get rid of Carlos Ghosn - Done. 2. Drop Nissan brand and keep Infiniti only. 3a. Rename Nissan to Infiniti. 3b. Or rename Nissan to Pontiac and then shut it down few years later. 3. Merge with PSA-FCA. 4. Replace CVTs with DCTs.

  • Speedlaw Speedlaw on Jan 28, 2020

    Nissan is a cheaply built car, clearly cost cut everywhere. Think low quality food, but Super Sized ! In my area, it is usually the Rogue, poorly driven, blocking the left lane. The only worse offenders are older women in Subarus.

  • Corey Lewis Think how dated this 80s design was by 1995!
  • Tassos Jong-iL Communist America Rises!
  • Merc190 A CB7 Accord with the 5 cylinder
  • MRF 95 T-Bird Daihatsu Copen- A fun Kei sized roadster. Equipped with a 660cc three, a five speed manual and a retractable roof it’s all you need. Subaru Levorg wagon-because not everyone needs a lifted Outback.
  • Merc190 I test drive one of these back in the day with an automatic, just to drive an Alfa, with a Busso no less. Didn't care for the dash design, would be a fun adventure to find some scrapped Lancia Themas or Saab 900's and do some swapping to make car even sweeter. But definitely lose the ground effects.
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