Nissan looks to transform brand with 10 new products

Yahoo Finance’s Alexis Christoforous and Allyson Witherspoon, Nissan CMO, discuss Nissan’s new push to reinvent the brand amid the pandemic.

Video Transcript

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Nissan just revealed a product refresh for two of its iconic brands, the Pathfinder and the Frontier. It completes the Japanese automaker's US transformation of 10 new products in just 20 months. Joining me now to talk about it is Nissan's Chief Marketing Officer, Allyson Witherspoon. Allyson, good to have you here. It's a dizzying amount of new products in a short amount of time. First off, true confessions-- I owned a Pathfinder years ago. It was one of my first cars. Tell us what is new about this Pathfinder and this Frontier.

ALLYSON WITHERSPOON: Sure. Yeah, it's very exciting to be here with you today. So we have the all new 2022 Pathfinder. This is a complete redesign, top to bottom, inside and out. So it has a completely new body style. We also have a new transmission, all new safety technology, Apple Car Play, everything that you need when it comes to connectivity features. And I think I've got an example of the new model behind me. We're very excited. This is an iconic product for Nissan, so excited to get this out on the road

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: And I know that it's part of sort of Nissan's push to reinvent itself to a large degree, its products, but also the culture within the company. How have things changed during this pandemic for the company in terms of how it reaches its customers and its relationship with dealerships?

ALLYSON WITHERSPOON: So we've been working on developing much tighter relationships with our dealers. So working hand in hand with them. We have a lot of efforts that are going on across different aspects of our business. I think what we're also seeing is that through COVID-19, there is a huge spike in how consumers were wanting to shop, and that really had to do with online. So we immediately accelerated all of our e-commerce initiatives.

So things that were maybe six months to even a year out, we accelerated that to up to two months. And that's really based on how consumers are shopping. So now we want to provide the ability for consumers to shop on their terms. If they want to go to the dealerships, that opportunity is there, and they want to do that test drive experience. However, if they want to do all of this online digital, which we are seeing some of that, they also now have a path and a journey for them to do that as well.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: And what about Nissan's plans for electric vehicles as part of this sort of refresh of the brand. I know you got a new logo back in July. So share with us some of your EV plans if you can and who might some of your partners be.

ALLYSON WITHERSPOON: Yeah, so we've been working, again, electric is also part of this product offensive that we've had. We revealed in kind of around the July time frame the Ariya crossover concept. So this car is a crossover SUV, all electric. That will be coming into showrooms later on this year. So we're very excited about that. Crossovers are a massive segment, especially in the United States.

And Nissan is one of the leading automotive manufacturers when it comes to electric vehicles, starting way back with the Tama and then the Leaf was the first mass produced electric vehicle. And we're excited to bring all of that expertise and all of that legacy and heritage into the Ariya all electric concept crossover.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Sure, absolutely. I remember the Leaf. Apple-- there's talk, of course, reports that Apple is going to break into this EV market with its very own car. We don't really have a timeline for that yet. There were reports that they were going to do a partnership with Hyundai. It looks like that may be falling apart. Have you at Nissan held any talks with Apple or would you consider teaming up with them for something like this?

ALLYSON WITHERSPOON: So I can't talk to any partnerships that are kind of not yet to be announced yet. But I think for us, again, we have a strong legacy and a strong heritage when it comes to electric vehicles. We feel that that gives us a great opportunity to bring these vehicles to market, especially in the segments that consumers are wanting. And I think the Ariya is a perfect example of that, which is going to be coming very soon.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: What about the launch of the 400Z. I know there are fans of this car. They are waiting with bated breath. Do you have any updates that you can give folks?

ALLYSON WITHERSPOON: So we revealed the Z proto, which is the overall design concept. That was revealed earlier in September. And I think, as you said, there is a very large enthusiast base that loves this product. We also had that as part of our Nissan Next reveal that was last week. So that car will also be going on sale very soon. And I think what's great about that is that gives you, again, it's the best of Nissan heritage.

There are a lot of design cues going back to some of the original Zs. But then it's been updated with all the new technology to get consumers ready to be out on the road today as well. So excited also for that to be coming. As you said, we're launching 10 new products in 20 months. That's a massive undertaking for any manufacturer and it's a huge product offensive. And I think we're bringing some of the favorite vehicles that fans have had as well as some new products to market, especially when you think about Frontier, Pathfinder, Z, and then Ariya.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: I know that Nissan has had some hurdles that it's had to clear, namely a change in management with the drama surrounding Carlos Ghosn. How do you begin, I mean, especially in your job as CMO, how do you begin to restore the Nissan brand? I know that rolling out these 10 products is certainly part of it. But what else goes into restoring a car brand?

ALLYSON WITHERSPOON: The product piece of it-- that is probably one of the most fundamental things because it is what we do, it is what we bring to market. I think also how we reach consumers. When you think about our Nissan at Home initiative, which is what we're doing when it comes to e-commerce, as well as reconnecting consumers with our brand emotionally. And that's with our brand and what we're able to deliver for our owners, our existing owners, but then also for people that are looking for new vehicles, especially in these segments.

So it's really about focusing our efforts. Really focusing about those new products and bringing great customer experiences to our owners, as well as to conquesting customers as well.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: What has demand been like during this pandemic? And where do you see people gravitating? What kinds of vehicles are they choosing?

ALLYSON WITHERSPOON: So I think this is a great question, and I think something that we've been watching very closely over the last year. The main segments where we're seeing a lot of demand is in the SUV segment, as well as in the trucks. And I think when we think about what Nissan revealed last week with the Frontier, which is the truck segment, as well as Pathfinder with a full size SUV segment, we are going to be right there where that demand is. But those are the two main segments where we're seeing a lot of demand.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Have you had to shut down any dealerships because of the pandemic world we're living in? And any plans to reopen them?

ALLYSON WITHERSPOON: So at the very beginning of the pandemic, there were a lot of dealerships that were closed and that was due to state regulations. Our dealers worked very closely with their local and state governments to find ways that they could actually be able to operate and deliver for their customers. And this is actually what led us to this e-commerce initiative. What we saw is that even if there were state restrictions which didn't allow dealerships to be open, they were able to do online retailing, which is what led us to Nissan at Home and our e-commerce initiatives.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: All right, well, now you can breathe a sigh of relief. All 10 products are out in 20 months. Allyson Witherspoon, CMO of Nissan. Thanks for joining us.

ALLYSON WITHERSPOON: Thank you.