Nissan Aims to Recast Image With High-Tech Electric Cars
Coming Generation of Buyers Aren't Interested in Horsepower, RPMs or Gas Fumes
...Nissan Executive Vice President Andy Palmer says Nissan's commitment to start selling self-driving cars by 2020 springs from a broader belief that today's 20- and 30-somethings, its key future customers, are fundamentally different from today's car buyers...
The world's affluent young aren't as enamored of driving as their parents, and welcome technology that takes that chore off their hands. They want to stay connected to the world outside, valuing systems that allow that to happen safely. They shop online and visit dealerships at a far lower rate than older consumers.
The challenge for established companies, Mr. Palmer says, is "how do you cross the river" between future buyers and baby boomers who buy most of the cars and trucks sold today? Boomers still pay a premium for gasoline-fueled cars, sport-utility vehicles, big pickup trucks and lust after high-powered sports cars such as Nissan's GT-R.
In the short term, Nissan will keep building trucks and SUVs. The company's promise to lift profit margins to 8% by 2016 from about 6% today relies heavily on a plan to boost sales of pickups and other light commercial vehicles by roughly 80% to 2 million vehicles globally.
However, longer term, Mr. Palmer says, regulations aimed at clamping down on automotive greenhouse gas emissions will inevitably force car makers to design cars that run on electricity. Nissan has five electric vehicles in the works to launch between now and 2016, he says, hinting strongly that one of these will be a much sportier-looking car than the plain and practical Leaf.
"I hope zero emissions gives the company an identity to stand apart from the others," Mr. Palmer says. "The Leaf is a car that's as important to us as the S is to Elon Musk."...
