drysailor
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According to a story on Jalopnik, Nissan has decided to exit the van business in the US. This involves both the larger NV series, as well as the 200. If true, this could be the time to grab one while you can...
Nissan van production ending?
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Here is an article.
https://www.autonews.com/sales/nissan-ready-concede-vans
https://www.autonews.com/sales/nissan-ready-concede-vans
highdesertranger
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you must be a subscriber to read that article is the message I get on that link.
Nissan has been teetering on the edge for as long as I remember. bankruptcy rumors have been in the background for at least 50 years.
highdesertranger
Nissan has been teetering on the edge for as long as I remember. bankruptcy rumors have been in the background for at least 50 years.
highdesertranger
Someone without a pay wall has picked up and published the story - https://newstechdesk.com/2020/06/nissan-ready-to-concede-on-vans/
This is often the case. Always try googling the headline when you run into a paywall, especially if it's been a couple days since the original story was published.
This is often the case. Always try googling the headline when you run into a paywall, especially if it's been a couple days since the original story was published.
June 08, 2020 12:00 AM
Nissan ready to concede on vans
Nissan hoped to challenge Ford and General Motors with its NV vans.
About a decade after launching a bold assault on the Detroit 3-controlled commercial van business in the U.S., Nissan is retreating.
Nissan plans to discontinue production of its NV cargo and passenger vans in the U.S., sources familiar with the plans told Automotive News. The automaker assembles the large vans at its Canton, Miss., plant. It builds NV200 small vans in Cuernavaca, Mexico.
"We don't want to go more in the business of vans in the U.S.," said a source familiar with the decision. "We will exit."
Nissan spokesman Brian Brockman declined to provide details on the company's long-term plans for the commercial van market.
"Nissan is considering a number of opportunities to streamline the product portfolio and drive efficiencies within our manufacturing operations," Brockman said of Nissan's overall business. "We will provide updates as available."
An exit from the van business will have ramifications for many — but not all — of Nissan's retailers. Only about a fourth of the brand's more than 1,070 U.S. dealers made the necessary store investments to enter the commercial vehicle business in 2011, installing heavy-duty lifts capable of raising 30,000 pounds of loaded vans, extending business hours to accommodate contractor needs and hiring a sales staff dedicated to fleet issues.
Those who invested did so under the assumption that Nissan would support the products indefinitely, said Tyler Slade, operating partner at Tim Dahle Nissan Southtowne in suburban Salt Lake City.
"Dealers now have serious concerns about their investments in commercial vehicles," Slade said.
Tim Dahle Nissan, one of the brand's largest sellers of NV passenger vans, sold about 200 NV cargo and passenger vans last year. The business represented about 15 percent of the dealership's annual sales.
New priorities
Nissan's retrenchment from the segment underscores the ongoing unwinding of former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn's expansive, market-share driven strategy.
Ghosn aggressively spread Nissan's products across segments and geographies in pursuit of global volume. Nissan enjoys a strong presence in Japan's commercial vehicle market, and a decade ago, Ghosn vowed that the company would extend that prowess to the U.S.
But Nissan's efforts stretched the company's financial and human capital thin. It is now undertaking a corporate makeover that prioritizes profit over volume. The automaker plans to trim its nameplates by 20 percent, shrinking its global lineup to fewer than 55 models from 69 today. It will focus on a smaller number of more profitable core models.
The coronavirus pandemic is likely to accelerate the lineup change, said IHS Markit analyst Stephanie Brinley.
"The COVID-19 situation has disrupted things so drastically," Brinley said. "There's going to be a lot of marginal programs that have to be rethought."
Limited traction
When Nissan launched the NV van in the U.S. nearly a decade ago, the segment was an unchallenged Detroit fortress.
Ford and GM alone controlled about 97 percent of the large van segment, and small commercial vans were an uncertain new concept in an era of rising fuel prices.
Nissan hoped to stir things up. Its van offered a fresh alternative to Detroit's boxy and aged offerings. The NV was billed as a more comfortable option, with no-brainer design enhancements such as adjustable seats; a taller ceiling for easier access to cargo; and pre-drilled holes in the vehicle body so painters, carpenters and electricians could add interior racks and shelving without causing unsightly rust.
The NV's beefy chassis initially proved popular with plumbers and carpet cleaners, for whom hauling power was paramount.
But Nissan was unable to loosen the American brands' market grip in any significant volume. The modest share Nissan was able to capture flatlined over the past five years.
Last year, Ford held nearly 50 percent of the commercial segment, while GM had nearly 22 percent, according to the Automotive News Data Center. Nissan, with an 8 percent share, has languished near the bottom. It sold 38,790 NV and NV200 vans in the U.S. in 2019, about 16 percent of the 240,529 van volume that Ford did.
Nissan might also be looking at a new development in the segment's competition. GM is reportedly developing an electric van aimed at business users. The van — code-named BV1 — is due to start production in late 2021, Reuters reported last week.
Tandem selling
It wasn't just an issue of entrenched U.S. brand loyalty that stymied Nissan. Part of the Japanese automaker's challenge was its product plan.
Nissan struggles to win over fleet customers because it lacks the breadth of light-truck variants and configurations that the Detroit 3 offer, Slade conceded of the competition.
"Chevrolet and Ford can be everything to everybody," he said.
His point: Vans and pickups work together to attract sales in the commercial fleet market. Nissan's Titan full-size pickup is a meager competitor to the immensely popular Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Silverado.
"When we went to some of these fleet companies, it didn't make sense for them to have trucks from Ford and vans from Nissan," Slade said. "We really only had success with small companies, like caterers and florists."
Nissan's decision to build the large NV vans on a modified Titan pickup platform also compromised the vehicle in two areas key for urban cargo-haulers. The big van's extended pickup-style nose made the NV less flexible in parking and on deliveries in congested city settings than the cab-forward designs of competitors, said Sam Fiorani, vice president at AutoForecast Solutions.
That design also compromised cargo capacity, he said.
"A third of the vehicle is dedicated to the engine and passenger compartment instead of cargo," Fiorani said. "The van takes up more real estate for the same amount of cargo space."
They get it
Nissan understands the commercial van market and has a "competent product," analyst Brinley said.
"I'm just not sure they have a selling proposition that is significantly better than the competition," she added.
It's also not clear that Nissan's exit from the business will be permanent.
The automaker's new business strategy, laid out publicly late last month in Japan, calls for more global cooperation with its alliance partner Renault. And Renault has a number of successful van products in its portfolio.
Nissan has already marketed an adapted front-wheel-drive Renault Traffic van in Europe under the nameplate NV300.
Putting a Renault van in the U.S. would take some effort and investment in the way of homologation. But retailer Slade welcomed the idea of offering a Renault alternative instead of walking away from the business here.
"Nissan management has said it is committed to the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance," he said. "Here's a great way to prove that we are committed to the alliance."
Nissan ready to concede on vans
Nissan hoped to challenge Ford and General Motors with its NV vans.
About a decade after launching a bold assault on the Detroit 3-controlled commercial van business in the U.S., Nissan is retreating.
Nissan plans to discontinue production of its NV cargo and passenger vans in the U.S., sources familiar with the plans told Automotive News. The automaker assembles the large vans at its Canton, Miss., plant. It builds NV200 small vans in Cuernavaca, Mexico.
"We don't want to go more in the business of vans in the U.S.," said a source familiar with the decision. "We will exit."
Nissan spokesman Brian Brockman declined to provide details on the company's long-term plans for the commercial van market.
"Nissan is considering a number of opportunities to streamline the product portfolio and drive efficiencies within our manufacturing operations," Brockman said of Nissan's overall business. "We will provide updates as available."
An exit from the van business will have ramifications for many — but not all — of Nissan's retailers. Only about a fourth of the brand's more than 1,070 U.S. dealers made the necessary store investments to enter the commercial vehicle business in 2011, installing heavy-duty lifts capable of raising 30,000 pounds of loaded vans, extending business hours to accommodate contractor needs and hiring a sales staff dedicated to fleet issues.
Those who invested did so under the assumption that Nissan would support the products indefinitely, said Tyler Slade, operating partner at Tim Dahle Nissan Southtowne in suburban Salt Lake City.
"Dealers now have serious concerns about their investments in commercial vehicles," Slade said.
Tim Dahle Nissan, one of the brand's largest sellers of NV passenger vans, sold about 200 NV cargo and passenger vans last year. The business represented about 15 percent of the dealership's annual sales.
New priorities
Nissan's retrenchment from the segment underscores the ongoing unwinding of former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn's expansive, market-share driven strategy.
Ghosn aggressively spread Nissan's products across segments and geographies in pursuit of global volume. Nissan enjoys a strong presence in Japan's commercial vehicle market, and a decade ago, Ghosn vowed that the company would extend that prowess to the U.S.
But Nissan's efforts stretched the company's financial and human capital thin. It is now undertaking a corporate makeover that prioritizes profit over volume. The automaker plans to trim its nameplates by 20 percent, shrinking its global lineup to fewer than 55 models from 69 today. It will focus on a smaller number of more profitable core models.
The coronavirus pandemic is likely to accelerate the lineup change, said IHS Markit analyst Stephanie Brinley.
"The COVID-19 situation has disrupted things so drastically," Brinley said. "There's going to be a lot of marginal programs that have to be rethought."
Limited traction
When Nissan launched the NV van in the U.S. nearly a decade ago, the segment was an unchallenged Detroit fortress.
Ford and GM alone controlled about 97 percent of the large van segment, and small commercial vans were an uncertain new concept in an era of rising fuel prices.
Nissan hoped to stir things up. Its van offered a fresh alternative to Detroit's boxy and aged offerings. The NV was billed as a more comfortable option, with no-brainer design enhancements such as adjustable seats; a taller ceiling for easier access to cargo; and pre-drilled holes in the vehicle body so painters, carpenters and electricians could add interior racks and shelving without causing unsightly rust.
The NV's beefy chassis initially proved popular with plumbers and carpet cleaners, for whom hauling power was paramount.
But Nissan was unable to loosen the American brands' market grip in any significant volume. The modest share Nissan was able to capture flatlined over the past five years.
Last year, Ford held nearly 50 percent of the commercial segment, while GM had nearly 22 percent, according to the Automotive News Data Center. Nissan, with an 8 percent share, has languished near the bottom. It sold 38,790 NV and NV200 vans in the U.S. in 2019, about 16 percent of the 240,529 van volume that Ford did.
Nissan might also be looking at a new development in the segment's competition. GM is reportedly developing an electric van aimed at business users. The van — code-named BV1 — is due to start production in late 2021, Reuters reported last week.
Tandem selling
It wasn't just an issue of entrenched U.S. brand loyalty that stymied Nissan. Part of the Japanese automaker's challenge was its product plan.
Nissan struggles to win over fleet customers because it lacks the breadth of light-truck variants and configurations that the Detroit 3 offer, Slade conceded of the competition.
"Chevrolet and Ford can be everything to everybody," he said.
His point: Vans and pickups work together to attract sales in the commercial fleet market. Nissan's Titan full-size pickup is a meager competitor to the immensely popular Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Silverado.
"When we went to some of these fleet companies, it didn't make sense for them to have trucks from Ford and vans from Nissan," Slade said. "We really only had success with small companies, like caterers and florists."
Nissan's decision to build the large NV vans on a modified Titan pickup platform also compromised the vehicle in two areas key for urban cargo-haulers. The big van's extended pickup-style nose made the NV less flexible in parking and on deliveries in congested city settings than the cab-forward designs of competitors, said Sam Fiorani, vice president at AutoForecast Solutions.
That design also compromised cargo capacity, he said.
"A third of the vehicle is dedicated to the engine and passenger compartment instead of cargo," Fiorani said. "The van takes up more real estate for the same amount of cargo space."
They get it
Nissan understands the commercial van market and has a "competent product," analyst Brinley said.
"I'm just not sure they have a selling proposition that is significantly better than the competition," she added.
It's also not clear that Nissan's exit from the business will be permanent.
The automaker's new business strategy, laid out publicly late last month in Japan, calls for more global cooperation with its alliance partner Renault. And Renault has a number of successful van products in its portfolio.
Nissan has already marketed an adapted front-wheel-drive Renault Traffic van in Europe under the nameplate NV300.
Putting a Renault van in the U.S. would take some effort and investment in the way of homologation. But retailer Slade welcomed the idea of offering a Renault alternative instead of walking away from the business here.
"Nissan management has said it is committed to the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance," he said. "Here's a great way to prove that we are committed to the alliance."
I came close to buying one a few years ago.
They are really a niche vehicle...but I was in that niche, or really close to it.
If they would have added 4WD and just a bit of length (increasing interior volume) I'm sure they could have gobbled up a bigger slice of the market.
They are really a niche vehicle...but I was in that niche, or really close to it.
If they would have added 4WD and just a bit of length (increasing interior volume) I'm sure they could have gobbled up a bigger slice of the market.
Spaceman Spiff
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How big a market is there for 4 wheel drive vans?
Seems to me to be a very small segment.
Seems to me to be a very small segment.
A couple of the big players are charging premium prices for the 4WD or AWD vans they offer now.
The offerings are few, so with some prospective owners looking at that market, Nissan could have grabbed a piece of that pie.
Nissan already had the 4WD running gear for the Titan, which the NV 2500 and 3500 were based on. All they had to do was bolt it on, add 5 grand to the MSRP price, and grab some customers that have the big bucks, who are looking at Mercedes Sprinter 4WD and the new Ford Transit AWD.
Nissan could have offered it with 4WD and larger tires, beefier suspension, bull bars and sand-colored desert theme paint, and maybe sold at least a few hundred or thousand of those, at a nice profit.
Competition is a good thing, and even if the market is smaller than the commercial market, the margins are fatter and the overlanding customers and aftermarket will further prop up sales...or so it seems to me.
Of course, I don't run a car company, so what do I know?
The offerings are few, so with some prospective owners looking at that market, Nissan could have grabbed a piece of that pie.
Nissan already had the 4WD running gear for the Titan, which the NV 2500 and 3500 were based on. All they had to do was bolt it on, add 5 grand to the MSRP price, and grab some customers that have the big bucks, who are looking at Mercedes Sprinter 4WD and the new Ford Transit AWD.
Nissan could have offered it with 4WD and larger tires, beefier suspension, bull bars and sand-colored desert theme paint, and maybe sold at least a few hundred or thousand of those, at a nice profit.
Competition is a good thing, and even if the market is smaller than the commercial market, the margins are fatter and the overlanding customers and aftermarket will further prop up sales...or so it seems to me.
Of course, I don't run a car company, so what do I know?
john*thomas
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This thread is a year old but I stumbled across it searching for something else. Part of the issue here is a lack of advertising and marketing IMO. I also post this for anyone else searching for one of these vehicles in the future.
I have a 2015 Chevy City Express. Chevy's version of the NV200. I absolutely love it. Works for me like a truck but with better gas mileage and the ability to lock whatever is in it up. I've hauled trash, motorcycles, furniture, wood, engines, etc in it. Yeah it's not very powerful but that isn't what I needed.
Back to my first point. People are always asking what it is I am driving. They aren't all that familiar with them or they see them being used as commercial vehicles and don't really pay attention to them. I upgraded my tires from the low profile LT tires as I do not load my van full of stuff as it would have been when a commercial vehicle and it made the ride and handling better.
If I ever wear this one out I will most definitely look for another. Ending production hurts that somewhat as finding a lower mile unit will be harder but I'm sure there will be one somewhere. I considered converting mine for camping but it's a bit small for two and then I couldn't use it as a truck any longer.
Great little vehicles.
I have a 2015 Chevy City Express. Chevy's version of the NV200. I absolutely love it. Works for me like a truck but with better gas mileage and the ability to lock whatever is in it up. I've hauled trash, motorcycles, furniture, wood, engines, etc in it. Yeah it's not very powerful but that isn't what I needed.
Back to my first point. People are always asking what it is I am driving. They aren't all that familiar with them or they see them being used as commercial vehicles and don't really pay attention to them. I upgraded my tires from the low profile LT tires as I do not load my van full of stuff as it would have been when a commercial vehicle and it made the ride and handling better.
If I ever wear this one out I will most definitely look for another. Ending production hurts that somewhat as finding a lower mile unit will be harder but I'm sure there will be one somewhere. I considered converting mine for camping but it's a bit small for two and then I couldn't use it as a truck any longer.
Great little vehicles.
Gypsy108
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This was my rig a few years ago ....I loved him so much.... but exchanged it for a SUV because I freaked out about when winter came & I’d have to scrape snow & ice off it before going to work at 5 AM .... I thought I would just get another one after winter was over.....it was a quick decision to buy it ... first van I ever looked at...I didn’t think twice about it....was the last time I felt happiness. Now my credit is shot and it will be a miracle if I ever own another beautiful van like this. It was a 2016 with only 46,000 ... and I traded in my beloved 2013 Passat for it ... which they only gave me about $5,000 for... the van sold for $26,000 ....(I think) somewhere around that price... i named him “ MAHARAJA”
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