EV alters service strategy for Nissan dealers

NASHVILLE -- The upcoming electric Leaf sedan presents Nissan dealers with a service department paradox.

The car will deprive them of some of the usual revenue opportunities they covet, such as oil changes, spark plug changes and radiator flushes. But according to Nissan North America, the Leaf promises to improve service shop customer retention because customers will prefer trained technicians at dealerships.

It's a new proposition for retailers and service managers as they peer into a future of electric and hybrid-engine cars and vans.

Oil changes are an important piece of volume for many dealerships, as well as a reliable way to get customers into the shop every few months. But like other electric vehicles that will follow, the Nissan Leaf will use no oil. It has no oil filter to change, no air filter, no spark plugs, no muffler, no radiator, no radiator hoses, no transmission, no engine hoses, no check-engine light -- and no engine at all, for that matter.

Yet it has something going for it that will benefit Nissan retail service operations, says Brian Maragno, program manager for electric-vehicle sales operation and network strategy: Because the Leaf will be in the vanguard of the new low-emission and zero-emission product wave, Nissan dealers will be centers of expertise for the technology.

"Our customers aren't going to be taking these cars to Jiffy Lube for service issues," Maragno says. "Nissan dealers are going to be the experts on servicing electric vehicles. They will have the service training and the tools and the replacement parts. You won't want to take the car anywhere else."

Nissan has been on a campaign to improve customer retention for more than a year. The effort has ranged from streamlining the way dealers price their collision repairs to improving how call centers handle phone queries. The automaker scored below the industry average on the 2010 J.D. Power and Associates Customer Service Index Study.

Maragno takes exception to the assumption that electric cars will translate into scant service business.

Granted, there will be no oil changes, he concedes. "But it will have many of the same components as a traditional car," says the 33-year-old New Jersey native. "There are still brakes and brake pads, tires and windshield wipers. Dealers will find service work."

The Leaf's battery module -- a large, flat component that weighs about 600 pounds -- is a key part of the service training. Dealerships will be expected to analyze the battery system and remove it from the car's chassis if necessary.

Maragno notes that while the battery itself is a large, integrated piece, it is composed of 48 modules. Dealerships will be expected to analyze and service each of those modules.

Stores will be required to have a forklift on the premises to move batteries around, although the manufacturer is not imposing a specification on what type of forklift they use.

Dealers also will be required to have insulated hand tools, providing technicians with protection from electrical shock while they work on the car.

Nissan is conducting dealership shop assessments to see what other tool purchases will be necessary for the Leaf's limited December launch.

Getting Nissan's 1,000-store dealer and service department network prepared for the launch is occupying most of Maragno's time. This summer his field team began a dealer and technician Internet training program. In the coming weeks, the company will begin moving dealership personnel through four-day training sessions on the Leaf.

In July, Nissan opened an additional U.S. dealer training center in Livermore, Calif., near San Francisco. The location is significant. Nissan expects green-conscious northern California and the nearby Silicon Valley area to be a key market for the electric car. The new center will give West Coast dealers and their technicians more flexibility in training.

For all dealers, Nissan scheduled a meeting for today, Aug. 2, in Las Vegas to go over the details of how the Leaf will be sold and serviced.

Dealers have been asking about service opportunities, says Chris Assmar, general manager of Esserman Nissan in Miami and 2010 chairman of Nissan's National Dealer Advisory Board.

"But they also understand that what we're getting with the Leaf is a lot more than just a new model," he says. "This is a car that brings new attention and new customers to the brand. Most of the hand-raisers who have already expressed an interest in buying the Leaf are not current Nissan customers. What will that do for our service business?"