NEW YORK — Jeremie Papin, chairperson of Nissan Americas, said the company’s Ambition 2030 strategy is going to involve even more cooperation with dealers than the company has been enjoying in recent years.
In the near to medium future, he said, he envisions dealers remaining involved with vehicles through multiple owners, by way of second-life battery usage, leases of pre-owned vehicles and over-the-air updates.
“We don’t want to be successful at the expense of the customer, at the expense of our dealers [or] at the expense of our suppliers,” he said Tuesday at the New York Auto Forum. “We want all of our constituents to be successful.”
In the wake of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn’s hard-charging goals, Nissan has been improving its relations with dealers. The greater collaboration is important as more mainstream consumers adopt electric vehicles — a business in which Nissan was a pioneer.
With the introduction of the Ariya electric crossover, Nissan is working with dealers to provide a “second delivery,” Papin said.
The idea is that after a buyer has the vehicle for a few weeks of ownership, the dealership sends someone out to reexplain technological features such as ProPilot Assist 2.0, connected service and the e-4orce drive system.
Papin called it a “completely new customer-centric approach.”
In general, response to the Ariya has been positive, he said.
“It’s a terrific vehicle,” Papin said, “so the feedback is as good as it can be.”
