Had update done today, interesting talk with Leaf specialist

[adric22]

I had the update done today at Don Davis Nissan in Arlington. Nothing to report there, Leaf seems to behave exactly as usual. I was missing 1 capacity bar when I went in, still missing it now. GOM seems about the same too (so far).

What was actually more interesting was they had two leafs sitting on the lot. I drive by this dealer once every week or two and I almost never see any Leafs on the lot. I asked him about that. He says Nissan rarely ships them any Leafs and when he gets them in he sells them almost immediately. He was surprised that they shipped him 5 a few days ago, of which he's already sold some.

So I know we hear a lot of stories from the west coast, but I thought it should be brought to attention that Leafs aren't exactly sitting around on the lots around here in Texas being unsold. We just aren't getting any to sell.

Another interesting thing is the Leaf guy told me that any salesman is technically allowed to sell a Leaf now, but that none of the other salesmen want to deal with it. So he still does all of the Leaf sales.

 

[TomT]

Perhaps because, among other reasons, there is potentially more profit on their ICE cars and they don't have to be as knowledgeable to sell them...

Another interesting thing is the Leaf guy told me that any salesman is technically allowed to sell a Leaf now, but that none of the other salesmen want to deal with it. So he still does all of the Leaf sales.

 

[RonDawg]

Perhaps because, among other reasons, there is potentially more profit on their ICE cars and they don't have to be as knowledgeable to sell them...

Another interesting thing is the Leaf guy told me that any salesman is technically allowed to sell a Leaf now, but that none of the other salesmen want to deal with it. So he still does all of the Leaf sales.

Plus they don't want to take the risk of getting any less than a perfect score on those quality surveys from a customer who gets a Leaf and then realizes it's too limiting on their lifestyle and/or too inconvenient to have to plug in every night.

 

[kentuckyleaf]

Perhaps because, among other reasons, there is potentially more profit on their ICE cars and they don't have to be as knowledgeable to sell them...

Another interesting thing is the Leaf guy told me that any salesman is technically allowed to sell a Leaf now, but that none of the other salesmen want to deal with it. So he still does all of the Leaf sales.

Plus they don't want to take the risk of getting any less than a perfect score on those quality surveys from a customer who gets a Leaf and then realizes it's too limiting on their lifestyle and/or too inconvenient to have to plug in every night.

Inconvenient to plug in, I guess they can't own smart phones or cordless shavers.

 

[Reddy]

...What was actually more interesting was they had two leafs sitting on the lot. I drive by this dealer once every week or two and I almost never see any Leafs on the lot. I asked him about that. He says Nissan rarely ships them any Leafs and when he gets them in he sells them almost immediately. He was surprised that they shipped him 5 a few days ago, of which he's already sold some.

Sounds like this bodes well for July/August sales numbers. Nissan has probably worked some of the kinks out of the production line and is producing more than 2200/mo. Perhaps we'll see 2500-3000 in sales this month.

 

[TomT]

I only recharge my shaver about once a month... :lol:

Inconvenient to plug in, I guess they can't own smart phones or cordless shavers.

 

[mbender]

Perhaps because, among other reasons, there is potentially more profit on their ICE cars and they don't have to be as knowledgeable to sell them...

Another interesting thing is the Leaf guy told me that any salesman is technically allowed to sell a Leaf now, but that none of the other salesmen want to deal with it. So he still does all of the Leaf sales.

Plus they don't want to take the risk of getting any less than a perfect score on those quality surveys from a customer who gets a Leaf and then realizes it's too limiting on their lifestyle and/or too inconvenient to have to plug in every night.

Exactly (+1+1). The conflict of interest on the lot is troubling. It probably also explains why marketing is limited (in any number of ways, including creatively), and why sales and progress have been slower than hoped for. I'm not sure Ghosn is as gung-ho or committed to EVs as he once seemed to be.

 

[Pipcecil]

that salesman's statement is really what Tesla and Elon have been arguing about - selling both ICE and BEVs are a conflict of interest because the salesman would rather not deal with the BEV. It seems thats exactly what is playing out now

 

[jwhitehouse]

Hey...I think I resemble these remarks. :lol: