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Nissan Electric Chief Pelletreau: "We will have to say goodbye to the 10,000-euro car!"

In the interview, Guillaume Pelletreau, Vice President of Electrification and Connected Services, explains how he sees Nissan's future and why there likely won't be any fully-featured 10,000-euro cars anymore.

Spoke about the future of Nissan: Guillaume Pelletreau, Nissan Vice President of Electrification and Connected Services
Spoke about the future of Nissan: Guillaume Pelletreau, Nissan Vice President of Electrification and Connected Services
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In the interview, Guillaume Pelletreau, Vice President of Electrification and Connected Services, explains how he sees Nissan's future and why there probably won't be any fully-fledged 10,000-euro cars anymore.

We meet Guillaume Pelletreau at Tohru – a modest but extremely elegant Japanese restaurant in the middle of Munich. From the outside, only a sign and a door hint at the restaurant. If you don't know it, you’ll walk past it. Behind the door, steps lead to the first floor – nothing suggests that there could be an extremely fine restaurant there. One that definitely ranks among Munich's best. Symbolically, this could be seen for the new Nissan Ariya: So far, it is still rarely seen, but represents a much higher aspiration than is generally attributed to the brand. We meet Pelletreau in a small circle and learn quite a few interesting background details. He has been working at Nissan since 2005, making him one of the "veterans." It quickly becomes clear that Guillaume is convinced that the automotive market will undergo further major upheavals in the coming years. And even though Nissan continues to rely on a strong dealership network: In his opinion, the customer journey will be more digitally oriented than ever before, and customers will constantly be looking for new, alternative mobility solutions.

Interesting: Family man Guillaume enjoys spending time with his wife and children. He is also an enthusiastic athlete who tries to participate in as many sporting activities as possible, which can also be challenging, such as mountain and ski hikes and ski competitions. Guillaume firmly believes that his mind only works if his body is in good shape. His private contrast to this is reading and collecting comics. His collection includes almost 2,000 items, which he enjoys reading again and again from time to time. He currently drives an Ariya, which we immediately use as the starting point for our conversation.

The Ariya is still extremely rare in Germany – are you satisfied with its sales?

Pelletreau: For the quantities we can currently deliver, we are very satisfied. In absolute terms, of course, we are not, because when we planned the launch, we didn't have Covid, the chip crisis, or the Ukraine conflict on our radar. But the situation is improving weekly (smiles).

In terms of quality and price, the Ariya sets new standards for Nissan and already enters the premium segment here. Isn't it too expensive for customers?

Pelletreau: The Ariya is clearly our flagship model and underscores Nissan's claim in electromobility. We have also significantly upgraded our other models, which has been very well received by customers.

Nevertheless, with the current Micra phase-out, the Nissan program now starts with the not-so-cheap Juke, which is available for just under 21,000 euros. This situation will not change with the new compact electric vehicle (based on the electric Renault 5, editor's note). Won't Nissan become too expensive for many loyal customers?

Pelletreau: The fact is that electromobility can hardly be represented for less than 20,000 euros currently. In the compact car segment, battery costs currently account for a large portion of the total cost, and as long as these costs do not decrease significantly, we can't produce cheaper models here. Nissan plans to reduce battery costs by 65 percent by 2028. Besides, I think we will probably have to say goodbye to the magical 10,000-euro mark.

In China, BYD currently manages to offer the "Seagull" just below this mark...

Pelletreau: However, not with a package that Nissan customers expect. But we're also aware that many customers can no longer or do not want to follow the higher prices. For them, we offer alternatives: First, the option to lease our vehicles at attractive terms thanks to strong residual values, or to buy young Nissan used vehicles. These correspond to our Nissan new cars thanks to software updates. I strongly rely on over-the-air updates here.

But Nissan also had a cost-effective offshoot with Datsun, similar to how Dacia is for Renault?

Pelletreau: That is fundamentally correct, except that it was primarily intended for emerging markets. Nissan customers expect more, whereas pure price buyers tend to prefer other brands. We also had a very affordable entry-level model in our portfolio with the Nissan Pixo from 2009, but it was only moderately accepted. 

So Nissan is moving upwards – what will follow the Ariya soon?

Pelletreau (smiles): Many new products. To be completely honest, the time since 2018 was definitely not "a walk in the park". But now the supply chains, processes, and products are back on track. And we will soon bring an electric SUV and an electric compact model, both of which we have already announced.

What are currently the top sellers?

Pelletreau: In Europe, clearly the Qashqai.

But both of these are models that are only electrified, not electric...

Pelletreau: We clearly orient ourselves towards the customer here. Thanks to e-Power, you can experience how pleasant it is to drive purely electrically without worrying about range. And thanks to e-Power, interest in purely electric vehicles, which will be our future, is rising!

 

About Guillaume Pelletreau:

Since January 2022, Guillaume has been Vice President of Electrification and Connected Services at Nissan AMIEO headquarters in Paris. He plays a key role in the electrification of the AMIEO region and supports the company in promoting electromobility across the region, which spans from Africa, the Middle East, India, and Europe to Oceania (AMIEO). This is a crucial pillar of Nissan's "Ambition 2030," which aims for a cleaner, safer, and more inclusive world. In connection with Connected Car Services, Guillaume's role includes structuring and organizing the AMIEO region so that services related to vehicles can be efficiently specified, developed, and delivered, with the goal of increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty.

The interview was conducted by Gregor Soller

Translated automatically from German.
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