I mentioned the other week how quiet (dull) Switzerland could be when I worked there. I said that nothing seemed to happen.
One thing’s for sure, I certainly can’t say that now I’m back in the UK. Now everyone is poking me in the ribs saying that my wish for a more stimulating environment is to blame for then turmoil that’s hit us all recently.
What with the Euro area collapsing, the US credit rating being downgraded and slow economic growth you would think the world was about to end. Again.
And don’t even get me started on the riots – there’s no such thing as a hoodie in Switzerland and the closest we got to a civil unrest was a few murmurs from commuters when a train was late once.
It’s been a shock for us all. So what should we do? Shut up shop and moan about the future? Well, to use a well known phrase, keep calm and carry on.
While the macro metrics are undoubtedly challenging, I’m concentrating on one thing at the moment – and that’s the September plate change.
Looking at the figures, things don’t seem at all bad for Nissan. We are exactly where we should be at this point in the year and it looks likely we’ll land on budget for the month.
But we know it’s still tough out there and that we need to take advantage of every opportunity that crops up, not letting anything slip through our fingers – I’m sure you are all doing this already.
There are other issues to overcome, though. Supply of Qashqai is still pretty tight – and is likely to remain so – while the other main car lines can be described as ‘just enough’. Just like the economy and crime, these are challenges that we simply have to work together to overcome.
I look forward to reporting back to you all with September plate news soon – but in the meantime, I hope the 61-reg goes well for you all.