Nissan’s Ghosn: 2015 Will Be Tough Year in U.S.

DETROIT – Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn predicts moderate industry growth this year of 2%, with some regions more robust than others.

Namely, he believes the U.S. will be one of the tougher markets, not because of slowing demand for Nissan but rather stiff market competition.

“I don’t think 2015 is going to be an easy year in the United States,” he tells media here on the sidelines of the 2015 North American International Auto Show.

Nissan is less bullish on the U.S. market than some competitors calling for a 17 million-unit light-vehicle market, instead predicting industry LV volume of 16.7 million.

Nissan this year in the U.S. is launching an all-new version of its Titan fullsize pickup, as well as a next-generation of the Maxima large car. It continues to roll out a next-gen Murano CUV, launched in December.

As to why Nissan again chose to field an entrant in the fullsize-pickup segment after a lackluster experience with the first-generation Titan, Ghosn says: “This is a segment of 2 million (vehicles), so nobody can ignore it.” He notes Nissan’s current share of the large-pickup segment in the U.S. is 1% but he sees 5% as “a reasonable target.”

Tough markets for Nissan in 2015 will be Brazil, Japan and Russia, due to ongoing slowdowns.

Of Russia, Ghosn says Nissan is in the country to stay and sees much promise there, but he acknowledges it did stop sales of some models due to “rouble volatility.”  

“Short-term pain for long-term gain,” is how he phrases Nissan’s outlook for Russia.

He says Nissan being entrenched in the country, with more local manufacturing than competitors, isolates it somewhat from automakers doing more importing of vehicles and parts.

Nissan continues to see much promise in China, but it is shaking up its operations there, bringing in executives with fresh ways of thinking from other regions, he says.

“It’s a wake-up call for us to say, let’s not be satisfied with the superficial excuse we’re a Japanese brand in China” and therefore can’t do better, Ghosn says.

A dispute over the ownership of islands between the two countries has resulted in intermittent sales slowdowns at Japanese automakers selling in China.

Nissan is preparing for three long-term trends in the industry going forward, Ghosn says: the growth in zero-emission models, autonomous vehicles and connected-car technologies.

“(These are) going to stay with us for many years,” he says.

Nissan already retails a ZEV model in the U.S., the Leaf electric car. Ghosn says Nissan does not yet have a sales projection for the Leaf in 2015, but expects its sales to increase by “double digits, minimum.”

He welcomes new competitors in the segment. Nissan, along with General Motors, was the first to retail an EV in the U.S. in December 2010.

“We think when competition comes, the rate at which the zero-emission market grows is faster than the rate at how much competition is going to take from you,” Ghosn says, adding Nissan doesn’t see Tesla as a competitor.

“They’re helping us familiarize people with the electric car,” he says.

Ghosn says Nissan can match the upcoming Chevrolet Bolt’s 200 miles (322 km) of electric range with a future Leaf.

The ’15 Leaf has an 84-mile (135-km) range.

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