CIRCUMSTANCES have conspired to give Nissan dealers the opportunity to make a very strong finish to the year.
That’s the verdict of Nissan GB Marketing Director, Guillaume Masurel, and Sales Director, Jon Pollock, who took time out of their busy schedules to talk to Nissan Insider this week.
The duo believe a sharp increase in TIV (Total Industry Volume), a strong showing from new Micra, a suite of highly competitive deals across the range and a fresh marketing push will have a big impact on September volume and share achievement.
And with news that new Note will be delivered ahead of schedule – with demonstrators arriving at dealerships in a matter of weeks – they feel dealers will have all they need for a sensational September.
What’s more, the developments mean everything’s still to play for with places on the brand’s forthcoming retail sales incentive luxury trip to Abu Dhabi and Dubai up for grabs.
Jon said: ‘The offers we have available on Qashqai and Juke, as well as new Note and new Micra, mean we are very competitive in the market and we must take advantage of that.
‘Retail TIV was up 14 per cent in August and so there are great opportunities for us to capitalise and have a very good September. Supply issues have also been resolved so we have the cars to meet all our targets.
‘And dealers should remember we are now on the home straight for the trip to Dubai and Abu Dhabi and every single sale or new Note pre-order could count. This promises to be the most incredible and memorable incentive we’ve ever offered and is really one not to be missed.’
He added: ‘The Micra and Note VIP tour were great in generating lots of leads and it’s important we now take advantage of that and convert those summer leads to sales.
‘Having new Note available weeks early and being able to give customers test drives well ahead of schedule should be a big boost and will really help with September close.’
Very healthy order bank
Guillaume too was quick to point to the great results of the Note and Micra VIP tour, which generated 6,000 showroom visitors across the network and led to a very healthy order bank for New Micra and started to build for new Note.
But despite these, the marketing team is stepping up its activities to support the network as it seeks to win a bigger slice of 
increased TIV for September.
Guillaume said: ‘We have a record starting order bank but the showroom traffic could be even higher in September given TIV, so we are updating our plan and reinforcing our retail marketing activity.
‘For example we have modified the offers for new Micra, introducing zero deposit, which will allow a younger customer to jump in. Meanwhile, on new Note, now that we have the cars in September we will anticipate our launch communication and drive new traffic to the network.
‘At the same time we have amended the offer on the very competitive Juke n-tec to counter supply constraints. This will allow dealers to take orders on a car which is attractively priced and in DSM, which should help their September close.’
Marketing plans have also been amended in light of changes to the delivery dates of new Micra and Note.
Guillaume said: ‘Because we have the cars early on we have pushed Micra launch above the line forward and will do the same for Note with increased media investment. Basically we will start communication on Note during the last week of September and this will increase the number of test drives taken before the end of the month.’
He added: ‘We are on TV with Juke at the moment and will have further TV with LEAF later in the month so we are visible which should generate a good level of traffic.’