Nissan ‘determined' to keep vehicles at 30-45 days' supply

Nissan is "determined" to provide dealers with a 30- to 45-day supply of vehicles for most models, Nissan Americas Chairperson Jeremie Papin said Wednesday.

The supply would be dependent on segment and battery level, he said, and some market segments might need a bit more inventory to provide a diverse offering, he said.

But Nissan wanted to compete with other manufacturers, not within its own network, Papin said.

"There is no intention ... to go back to where we were in the past," Papin told the American Financial Services Association Vehicle Finance Conference in Dallas.

Papin called his automaker "fully aligned" with dealerships on inventory.

"We don't push vehicles on them," Papin said. "They need to pull us."

He said Nissan shared production schedules with dealerships two months in advance so they knew exactly what they would receive.

Papin said Nissan had seen progress resolving supply issues hindering its production.

Two years ago, "80-plus" components were an issue for the automaker to source. Now, the number is more like "one or two." Which part or parts were scarce might change, but "it's never more" than that small number, he said.

Nissan's supply predictability has improved, Papin said. He said the automaker had better visibility into its supply chain and instituted dual sourcing.

The company was optimistic 2023 would show growth at both Nissan and its luxury brand Infiniti, he said.

Nissan is having success with Nissan Next, which involved three areas: rethinking the automaker's way of doing business, creating products and changing company culture, he said.

"Against all three, we're making great progress," Papin said, with improvements coming faster than expected.

There have also been 10 new products,he said — not just new Rogues and Frontiers but a new Z and the new Ariya EV. He said build quality stands at an all-time high for Nissan.

"When product does well, then everything else flows," he said.

Nissan's products also are delivering a new customer base, according to Papin. He said the automaker has been aggressive in targeting segments of customers it historically has been less successful in capturing. And the effort is paying off, he said.

Nissan has experienced a "spike" in household income among customers for many newer models. It has also observed growth in customer credit scores "without us being tighter," Papin said.

Despite these gains in creditworthiness and income, Papin indicated Nissan was attentive to the ability of its customers to afford its vehicles.

Someone who bought a vehicle three to five years ago could face higher monthly payments when returning to the market, he said. Nissan understood that and sought solutions for them, he said.

Nissan also has ideas for helping customers afford electric vehicles. The battery is an asset that can produce revenue long beyond an auto loan term of three to seven years, and work on monetizing a battery for a longer period of time could be drawn upon, he said.