What a week it has been for Nissan fans, and it’s only Thursday. In February, Nissan’s newly appointed CEO Ivan Espinosa shared with The Drive, “Nissan is making a comeback.” Actions speak louder than words, and results will determine the truth. But just a year into his leadership role, Espinosa, along with a predominantly enthusiastic executive team, appears to be striving expeditiously to realize that ambitious promise.
On Thursday in Japan, Richard Candler, who oversees Nissan’s global corporate product strategy, told The Drive, “We are deeply reassessing the sports [car] lineup. We are all eager to create some exciting cars.”
Candler expressed that his first car was a Silvia, purchased while he resided in the UK. “So, I would love to see that nameplate return. I believe it holds significant value. You may have seen the recent announcement regarding Skyline. This model has been a major passion project for us, and the feedback we’re getting is very positive, which makes us quite happy. The Z is also impressive. It’s a strong, well-built product. With Z and Skyline, we’re starting to reestablish a solid lineup. I think there’s still room for Silvia, and we’d like to see it happen,” Candler stated.
Candler further remarked, “We need to find the most suitable approach for it because making it affordable is crucial for that product. We need to determine the appropriate positioning. Moreover, regarding the rest of the sports car lineup, we have some fantastic names we aspire to develop further.”
These insights regarding sports cars resonate with Espinosa’s statement to The Drive on Tuesday, “Sports cars are central to our identity as a company.”
However, both executives are grounded in reality. Nissan is currently facing challenges and is amidst a substantial restructuring plan that aims to reduce its product lineup from 56 to 45 models. This refocusing will allocate 80% of the offerings into three primary vehicle families. One of those families will feature a new frame-based lineup, commencing with the relaunch of the Xterra. On Tuesday, Chairman for Nissan Americas, Christian Meunier, hinted at the Xterra’s return, declaring “badass is back.”
Candler stated, “But, you know, it’s a gradual process. What I’m trying to achieve with the portfolio is to create some room by discontinuing some lower-performing vehicles. We will reduce our portfolio somewhat, stopping cars that you probably won’t even notice, and reinvest that capital into a few passion projects.”
“It’s essential for us to reflect and evaluate, what is effective, and what isn’t?” Candler articulated.
Candler clarified the business rationale by mentioning, “All those cars [we plan to eliminate] incur costs for the company to maintain, to keep them operational, to ensure they meet the latest regulations and standards. This requires a certain amount of resources. We could discontinue those without significant business repercussions and then allocate resources to invest in, for instance, the Silvia or explore something even smaller. I even have a personal ambition to identify something potentially even more compact.”
You know what was more compact than the Silvia and it’s a shame it was never produced? The IDX and IDX Nismo concepts. The IDX and then the Silvia situated below the Z and then GT-R would create a delightful compact sports car lineup.
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