Coming off large global and regional losses during the 2008 fiscal year, Nissan is changing the management and structure for the Americas. The latest moves seem to be as much about increasing its share from insignificant in South America, as it is also an attempt to shed costs in North America, after a company-threatening, failed foray into making large SUVs and pickup trucks there.
Carlos Tavares, chairman of the newly reconfigured Management Committee-Americas, described the new plan for growth in the region as a “renewed commitment to delighting customers with innovative ideas for the joy of everyday driving.”
“We are taking a holistic approach to unlock new synergies in the region and to shift the Americas to zero-emission mobility,” he added, in what could be a record for meaningless clichés in one statement, although it is an extremely competitive field among auto execs.
The only immediate “innovation” on the product planning horizon that TDB is aware of involves Nissan’s attempt to counter Toyota’s and Honda’s hybrid dominance with a line of electric vehicles that are due next year in the U.S. and Japan as a demonstration fleet. Two years later, Nissan EVs will be made available to the mass market globally. Demand for EVs remains to be proven.
Japan’s third largest auto company is the only offshore company that has asked for U.S. taxpayer assistance, via a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, where $25 billion has been allocated to encourage production of vehicles that are 25% more fuel efficient than others in the class. The controversial formula used for mileage attained by electric vehicles puts gasoline-powered ones at a disadvantage.
Nissan said it has consolidated its operations across North America, Latin America and the Caribbean to “leverage the collective expertise of this diverse economic zone.”
The Management Committee-Americas is now a “streamlined group” of executives making strategic decisions for the region. In addition, two new operations committees have been established for North America, and Latin America and the Caribbean. Each is charged with “tactical, market- and performance-focused decisions aligned with the overall regional strategy.”
Nissan said that manufacturing, purchasing, supply-chain management and logistics will be tightly allied, because their functions are similar throughout the region. Sales, marketing and support operations will be managed more locally, since they need to respond to local-market needs.
As TDB has reported, the Renault-Nissan Alliance now has several zero-emission partnerships in the Americas, including Tucson and Phoenix Arizona; Sonoma County, California; the State of Oregon; the State of Tennessee and San Diego Gas & Electric Company. It is looking for more.
Critics of electric vehicles say it is misleading call them “zero emission vehicles” since it does not take into account how the electricity needed to charge them is generated. Most of the electric power in the U.S. is made by burning CO2 producing fuels, predominately coal, oil, and natural gas. Some therefore suggest that EVs should be dubbed “elsewhere emission vehicles” since the greenhouse gases are moved from tailpipes to utility smokestacks. Nonetheless, there are potential benefits in congested urban areas to using electric cars, if ways can be found for apartment dwellers and other users without garages to recharge them.
Nissan Americas operations include automotive design, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution, manufacturing and planning. In 2008, more than 1.3 million vehicles were sold in the region.
“We recognize that we are competing under very difficult conditions. Our focus is to delight our customers by supporting our people on the front line. We call it the reverse pyramid concept,” Tavares said.