DETROIT - Disappointment and heartache in the truck business have failed to dampen Nissan North America Inc.'s enthusiasm for big trucks.
Nissan today unveiled in suburban Detroit the largest U.S. concept vehicle it has ever shown: a workhorse truck that it hopes will carry it even deeper into the depressed American light-truck market.
The unveiling of the concept, along with a second commercial vehicle concept, marks Nissan's first public showing of the U.S.-designed products it wants to sell in the United States through its new Light Commercial Vehicle business, starting in 2010.
Nissan sells a large portfolio of commercial vans, flatbed trucks, delivery trucks, wagons and buses in every major world market except the United States.
The campaign represents another challenge to the Detroit 3. The U.S. market for light commercial vehicles is dominated by the domestic automakers. Ford Motor Co.'s aged E series van is squarely in Nissan's sights, and leading Nissan into the fight is former Ford commercial vehicle executive Joe Castelli.
"This is going to open up Nissan dealers to a lot of new product opportunities," says Castelli, now Nissan North America's vice president for light commercial vehicles and fleet. "It's a great business if everything falls into place."
Down market
So far the timing couldn't appear worse.
Nissan was thwarted in its 2003 effort to crack Detroit's hold on full-sized pickups with the Titan. After spending more than $1 billion to develop the Japanese-brand alternative to the Ford F-150 and build a plant in Mississippi to produce it, sales were disappointing. In the first 10 months of this year, Nissan sold fewer than 31,000 units.
Earlier this year, Nissan said it would end production of the Titan in 2010 and obtain its next generation from Chrysler LLC's Ram pickup assembly line in Mexico.
The U.S. market for large pickups has deflated with the crash of the home construction industry this year.
Nissan's new market segment -- light commercial trucks and vans used by plumbers, carpenters, delivery services and airport parking shuttles -- is not faring much better.
Sales of Ford's E-series van fell 26 percent this year through November. In October, Daimler AG said it was killing its U.S. Sterling truck brand, which sells in some of the same segments Nissan is now targeting.
Not for everyone
Castelli notes that Nissan is still a year and a half from launch, and that the market should be showing renewed life by then. He says his team is having initial talks with its dealers. But he admits commercial vehicles won't be for everyone.
"It's different than car retailing," Castelli says. "How you sell is different. How you handle service is different. Customers don't walk in to shop. Plumbers are out making house calls. You have to go find them."
He estimates that Nissan could end up with about only 25 percent of its 1,070 dealers participating, which he called normal for the industry.
Mexican success
Part of Nissan's enthusiasm here stems from its positive results with light commercial vehicles in Mexico, where Nissan has become a dominant player over the past few years. Last year, according to the company, Nissan sold about 85,000 light commercial vehicles in Mexico, a market that is a fraction of the size of the United States.
Castelli points out that the new U.S. business plan will have the added advantage of relying on a U.S. factory source, rather than importing its vehicles. By booting the Titan to Chrysler in 2010, Nissan will be able to produce a trio of three U.S.-market vehicles in Mississippi, where it is spending $118 million to retool.
That, he says, will give U.S. dealers something that is critical in the strange new commercial market: flexibility to modify vehicles and accessory packages according to customer desires.
Source:- http://www.autonews.com/article/20081204/ANA02/812049984/1176
RCS