An EV, or electric vehicle, is a car that uses electricity to run instead of gasoline. This makes them better for the environment because they produce less pollution.
Mass EV manufacturing means making a lot of electric cars at once to sell to many people. This is important for helping the environment and making electric cars more common.
Vehicle to grid means that an electric car can send electricity back to the power grid, which can help manage energy use and support the grid during peak times.
V2L means that an electric car can provide electricity to other devices, like charging your phone or powering tools, making it useful beyond just driving.
V2G means that electric cars can send power back to the electricity grid. This helps manage energy use, especially when there are a lot of renewable energy sources like wind or solar.
The ZED EV mandate is a rule in the UK that encourages car makers to produce more electric cars that don't pollute. It helps the country move towards cleaner transportation.
The Nissan Leaf is a car that runs entirely on electricity instead of gasoline. It's important because it helps reduce pollution and is a popular choice for people looking to drive an eco-friendly vehicle.
ICE cars are regular cars that use gas or diesel to run. They are the most common type of cars on the road today, but electric cars are becoming more popular.
'Range' is how far an electric car can drive before it needs to be charged again. A longer range is better because it means you can go further without stopping to recharge.
Infrastructure means the charging stations and support systems needed for electric cars. More charging stations make it easier for people to use electric vehicles.
An e-Power hybrid powertrain is a system that uses both electric and gas power. The gas engine helps charge the battery, which powers the car, making it more efficient and quieter than regular gas cars.
WLTP is a way to test how much fuel a car uses and how much pollution it produces. It gives a better idea of real-world driving conditions than older tests.
An automatic transmission is a system in a car that changes gears for you, so you don't have to do it yourself. This makes driving easier for many people.
Consumer incentivization means giving people reasons to buy something, like discounts or grants. For cars, this often helps people buy electric vehicles by making them cheaper.
Widespread adoption means that a lot of people start using something new, like electric cars. It shows that the new thing is becoming popular and accepted by many.
A car grant is money given by the government to help people buy certain cars, usually electric ones. It makes the cars cheaper to encourage more people to buy them.
An EV orientated marketplace is a market where electric cars are becoming more popular and important. This means more people are choosing electric vehicles instead of traditional gasoline cars.
Competitive value means how good a product is compared to others that are similar. It looks at what you get for the price you pay and how it stacks up against other options.
Car
Alfa Gtvs
The Alfa Romeo GTV is a sporty car that is known for its good looks and fun driving experience. It's a model that many car enthusiasts appreciate for its style and performance.
The hyperpunk concept car is a new type of car design that looks very modern and exciting. It's not a car you can buy yet, but it shows what car makers might create in the future.
LIVE
Welcome to a bonus episode of the AutoCar Podcast, AutoCar Meets. It's brought to you
in association with Anderson EV makers of premium domestic car chargers. There's still
time if you mention to them the My Week in Cars podcast before the end of October to
obtain £50 off an order. Visit Anderson-ev.com for more details. This week our Deputy Editor
Felix Page meets Nissan UK's Managing Director James Taylor. Felix, all yours.
This afternoon getting a little bit of an insight into what's coming about the year that's been,
a time of diversification, expansion for Nissan and a time of renewal I think. You've been there
now for five months joined from Voxel. How's it been? Let's start with a simple one. What's
the first five months been like? Yeah, it's been really good. A really strong team, again very good
support from the network as well. Joining as you say at a good time because we're just on this
cusp of real product expansion, moving from four models in the range through to eight models in
the range over the next 18 months or so. It's good time to join. The team has made me feel super
welcome and within weeks it felt like I've always been there. Really enjoying it so far.
Did you get that there's this cliche when someone joins a company in the midst of renewal,
there's this bulging intro metaphor that's always banding around. Did you feel like you
got there and there was this massive stack of things to do? I think there's always lots to do
just because the industry is going through such a change. I guess there's two big challenges in
the short term. One is electrification and the switch to electric and the Zeb mandate. Obviously
the second is the new level of competition in the marketplace that if we went back probably even
two years just wasn't at the level it's at today. Again, with I guess all brands, similar challenges,
similar market segments, but those kind of macro challenges are very much in everyone's
entrails. Yeah of course and you're not alone in confronting a new wave of rivals right across
the spectrum. We've got rivals right in the most affordable parts of the market and coming in at
the top end as well. You've got people like Porsche facing up to new rivals from China and that
sort of thing. But in that context, how do you think Nissan is perceived in the UK at the moment?
What is the perception around that brand? Does it need to change? Have you done anything to
change it so far? In terms of coming in from the fresh from the outside, I think the brand is in
a very strong position. If you look at some of the marketing metrics or some of the web metrics,
also if you just look at the range of vehicles we sell within each product,
it really just kind of the fundamentals of a strong brand are there. If we look at our search
levels, number one for Search for Small SUV, number one for Search for Large SUV. We've got a real
powerful brand platform to build on. One thing that I'm very passionate about is supporting the UK
and I really enjoy working for companies that invest heavily in the UK and going up to Sundance
in the passion of all the people up there in the plant as well. It was really inspiring and again
it's our job to make sure that we take those cars to market at the most appropriate wine.
The Sunderland factory is responsible for one of the best headlines we ever ran in auto car,
which was a factory visit story with the headline, they don't mac them like that.
It's sublime. But that British element, we've been talking about it a bit earlier today.
It's easy to forget really just how ingrained into British automotive Nissan really is. You've
got the engineering centre at Cranfield, the London design studio which has global reach in
terms of what it does. Obviously the factory in Sundance which is the UK's biggest. Is that an
important marketing tool? Do you think people are starting to value Britishness again? Yeah,
I think there's always that anger. You read anything in terms of surveys and it'll tell you
that a relatively high proportion of the population value buying things local, value buying things
that are built in Britain etc. So that is very much something in the marketing mix. We have to
remember we're a Japanese brand primarily and all the strengths that go along with being a
Japanese brand. But you would have seen some of the marketing we did on the New Cascade power for
example over the last month. We've got that design built love by Britain kind of part of the marketing
mix now to just try and reinforce that the fact that we are that big employer, we are the UK's
biggest producer of cars, will be the biggest producer of electric cars in the UK as well.
And I think that is important to bring. That's really interesting isn't it? Because obviously
previously it bowed out over a year ago now I think and it was the UK's most produced EV.
Currently I think by my reckoning the only electric car being produced here is a £450,000
Rolls Royce. So how does a leaf fit in? You're bringing mass EV manufacturing back to the UK.
That's sort of a huge responsibility to have as well. It is obviously there's a significant
investment gone into both extending the plant to make that ready for new leaf. That's happening.
First vehicles are going around the line. Also a significant investment up there as well for
the new battery plant that sits opposite the manufacturing plant. So significant investment.
Leaf we're really looking forward to and lots of reasons for that. Obviously we've got all the
heritage first car to be in its third generation globally for an EV. A lot of learning is obviously
to take from the millions of miles our customers have driven in electric vehicles so far that
we've really tried to put into this car. But also it's kind of the cusp of some of the new
technologies as well, V2L and vehicle to grid. And I think there are things that we can really
explore going forwards where the car becomes more than just a mobility again you from A to B.
It becomes kind of part of your home ecosystem effectively. So there's a real opportunity to
kind of make leaf bigger than just a car as well as all that British angle as well.
Do you think people, I mean obviously it's been a while since you could buy a brand new leaf in
the UK and where the first leaf was one of the pioneers of electric vehicles,
the second one had a bit more of a competitive field to stand in and the third one certainly
will. But do you think people still associate that name with electric vehicle spearheading
pioneering? Yeah I think so. If you look at the search metrics now we spend a lot of time on that
with Google. It's still up there very much at the top of its segment for search. So that tells us
that very much leaf is in people's psyche. I mean I also think natural name of the car leaves quite
a good name for an electric car personally but that's probably by the by. So I think that kind
of ingrained search awareness is unseen as a pioneer. As I say I think in terms of those new
technologies as well in terms of V2G we could be a pioneer again in that kind of next step for
electric vehicles. So we're super excited, can't come soon enough but now dealer roadshow starting
literally next week where people can go and look at the car. So we're very much nearly there.
Obviously huge implications for your EV mix as well which is you know crucial in the UK now
with the ZED EV mandate but it's one of two hot new EVs that you bring to market at the same time
giving us plenty to write about at the moment. You've got the micro. Do you think that that will
do quite a lot to sort of democratise electric vehicles in a way? With the ECG that's 21 and a
half seconds. Yeah so yeah obviously the micro gets the the £1,500 grant which is really welcome.
I think small cars obviously kind of the way electric still work into a degree is the bigger car,
bigger the segment, bigger the volume of opportunity. So probably leaf over the medium
terms of bigger volume opportunity that the micro just because of the market dynamics. I guess
critically for us we don't have another small car today so very much if you like the Nissan brand
that is the offering in terms of electric. So that will certainly help in terms of our ZED mandate
mix and we're launching four new electric cars and obviously then by the time we get to the end
of that period we'll have more electric cars in the range than we'll have ICE cars in the range
which will really support that transition over the coming years to make sure that we're hitting
those ZED mandate targets which we all want because we all want a cleaner greener future.
And to go with that transition you know the movement to electric power trains,
new styling language in all the cars, there's new technology on the dashboard all that sort of thing
is the profile of who buys a Nissan changing as well. I mean the micro of course is very closely
related to the Renault 5 which I think at the moment has an 84% conquest rate in the UK so 84%
buyers have not bought a Renault before. Did you anticipate similar? Do you hope for similar?
I think probably we're thinking more along the lines of 70-30 if we looked at kind of probably
micro and leaf. Certainly it's true for any electric car gets a much higher level of conquest
again partly because not all everyone's got an existing electric car in all the segments so if
you've got people who want an electric car and they buy a competitive brand they don't offer one
by definition they have to look elsewhere don't they? So it certainly will be a high level of
conquest. I think as well obviously you've got probably you're looking into more affluent households
as well so I think there's some dynamics there at play and certainly with micro I think I've
seemed to get to a younger audience as well than perhaps traditionally we've seen for new cars. So
again the cars all have different kind of places in the range appealing to slightly different
different segments. Can't really talk about PVs in the UK without mentioning the sort of
big gap between the mandated levels and the organic demand there is for electric vehicles.
So how do you manage that transition period? How do you get people to step from combustion
into entry? Yeah I think there's probably a few things we can do. I think firstly the retailer
network it's very very important and we've got a really strong and I think quite stable network
with a lot of experience and with Nissan a lot of experience with leaf previously so I think in
terms of then communicating with customers explaining the pros and cons of electric versus
eyes of the different models in the range you know for example a micro versus a juke or whether it's
a leaf versus a cash coin and they'll be able to present the the possibilities and the strengths
and weaknesses of both of both choices. So I think that's really important to get the dealers
ready and I guess passionate about electric again they've kind of been there once but now
we've had a little bit of a of a kind of plateau period now we've got to go again. So that's kind
of probably the first part second part is kind of number of models in the range and appealing to
different segments and that will also help from a Z-Mix. The car ground I think will also help in
time as well because I think we've all read about lunch theory but that little kind of incentive
that little thing to put you in the mind of thinking electric that will have I think a supporting
impact in terms of lead mix in general in the marketplace but I think the things like leaf
which is heading on up to almost 400 mile range yeah and we looked at electric in the past and
probably stepped back a couple of years you said oh what's the barriers well price in range
infrastructure well pricing obviously we all know electric cars have been very much coming down in
terms of being more competitive in their list prices versus their ice and equivalents range
once you're getting up towards 400 miles suddenly becomes obviously far less of an issue and obviously
the infrastructure is filling out albeit with the range of nearly 400 miles probably the infrastructure
is not quite as important as if you had a car with a range of 200 miles which is kind of where we were
probably two three years ago so I think those barriers are all you know gradually coming down
and again I just sense as well in the general kind of climate there's a little bit more positivity
around electric in the in the general media and kind of society in general I think went through
quite a negative went through a really positive phase when there was the petrol crisis and it
was like oh let's go and have an electric then it kind of wore in Ukraine price of electricity
went up it kind of moved back the other way things turned a little bit negative against
electric but I just sense now it's kind of coming back back in terms of the general balance of
media coverage a little bit more positive on electric and that will also have a knock-on effect
and of course as the market grows and every year you know there's literally hundreds of thousands
more EVs going on the roads the vast majority of those people are going to be advocates about
PV again if you look at what influences people friends of a family one of the big influences
in terms of what people choose to buy well that can obviously only it's almost like exponential
isn't it as you go through that curve of more people are hearing positive things around
electric and that can only be like let's say we want to clean the greener future so for me
that's only good for the for all of us yeah it does it feels like you can you can sense the
sort of cultural narrative around it changing a little bit there was the sort of loot and airport
car park fire era where everyone was getting ready to sort of jump on EVs but it does feel
like it's shifting and I think probably partly because of affordability you know the cost of
these cars is coming down and people are starting to see them as more logical alternatives to
what they were driving before you mentioned infrastructure that's a big that's going to
have a big part to play you've also got a new e-power hybrid power train coming to kashkai
launched already launched already launched already um moving around on the roads already
yeah yeah I think we I think we've just driven it uh auto car.co.uk for our impressions um
that it's sort of a it's a mix between an EV in a combustion car all right I'm not going to pretend
to know it's um again it's a hybrid but ultimately it only drives off electric
so you get all the benefits of EV driving so if you like single pedal driving which I do
very very easy you get the instant torque it's basically as virtually as quiet as an electric
car as well across the the speed ranges so you get all that benefit of kind of refinement
but if you don't have easy access to charging or you do a phenomenal amount of miles you're
really high real world mpg so WLTPs in the low 60s but depending on exactly how you drive
you could do better than that what do you think that'll do you know if someone drives that car
having not driven an electric car before as you say it drives notionally like an electric car do
you think that genuinely could convince someone to get over any sort of reservations they've got
around electric cars yeah I think I think again I was again I'm super passionate about you need
to get people in the car so again from a network perspective one of the things we've really got
work on once we get micro and leaf is yeah we need more courtesy because it's electric so people
are coming in and servicing their two three year olds e-power cashline last generation you know
they get to experience electric because again you can't underestimate people's kind of perception
of electric very scared of it and many people this this came up before don't like the idea of an
automatic which is hot isn't it because we all think that's easy yeah we all love autos but a lot
of people have driven manuals all their lives suddenly that's a big barrier to change but if
you can then put them into an environment with them we've got about charging because they've
only got to take it over and bring it back come on and pick the car at the end of the day I think
things like that really help overcome the barriers to move and move into electric the new e-power as
well I think it's of that electric driving style again if you get the opportunity to drive it again
it gives you that feel for for electric so again I think all that is positive and I do think
we're on this just on this cusp of kind of that electric demand increasing again
Steve it's the most frustrating thing is when you know someone for whom an EV would be perfect
you sort of recommend it and they say oh no no I'm not ready to go into electric and you can
just imagine it you can imagine the charger on the side of their house and it's fitting very nicely
into their life but you know yeah I suppose as you say you need to get them into the cars and on
that subject of sort of you know consumer incentivization we spoke to you recently you said
that consumers needed incentives they've got them now you think that's put us on the path to
widespread adoption yeah I think I think it's certainly more than welcome you know I've been
speaking for a long time saying we've had some significant incentives for company car drivers
to choose electric cars and that's clearly worked a lot now majority of company cars are now
fully electric we're missing it for the private motorist and to degree you know that seemed a
imbalance so I think the fact we've now got that car grant is going to make a difference
I think it does make people start to think about electric where perhaps they wouldn't have done
previously and so I think yeah I think it would be positive it's early days I think in terms of
just exactly how much impact it's made in the short term but I think as more cars become confirmed
for the the grant things like leave obviously we anticipate are going to get the the full 3750
more cars get that all of a sudden I think then more people move towards electric and again as
the same more people drive more people have advocates you're on the exponential curve then
I think in terms of adoption yeah I guess it's like a cycle of advertising isn't it if you get the
first few people and they tell their friends it's brilliant they tell their friends it's brilliant
that sort of thing but it certainly feels like we've turned a corner right coming back more generally
to Nissan at a corporate level going through huge restructuring globally a big turnaround plan
with with new CEO in place how does that manifest in the UK you know what's what's what's the
situation on the ground yeah I think for us obviously yeah there's uncertainty and Nissan's
not alone in this is they many of I guess let's call them the legacy brands Western brands have
have a face in some sort of no reorganization to a greater or lesser degree and I think for
for me the big job is are we going to make the right decisions so we come out the other end
stronger I think we can see we're making some big decisions that that I think gives everybody
confidence that we're willing to make the right decisions to come out as a stronger company from
from the other side I think in terms of them what's it been going forward I think as ever
and I think we've seen all come car automotives tend to go in a cycle that when you're at this point
product becomes super super important and I think then you'll see that as the new products
fill out in the in the forthcoming period that you know wouldn't have brown strap lines defy
ordinary I think you'll start to see some cars that really do absolutely max out on that promise so
again probably can't say too much more right now but watch this space because I'm really
positive that it forces the right decisions to get that great product going forward.
I'll wait until the microphones are off to probe on that a bit deeper.
You talked about emerging a stronger brand what does that look like for you on a UK level you
know outright ambitions I'm not going to say you know where do you see yourself in five years but
no I think for us obviously we're we need to make sure that with electric and entering new segments
with the new models we're bringing that we're growing over all as a brand that's clear we
don't want to just stay the same size we need to grow I think from a network point of view
obviously there's a lot of cost pressure gone in in terms of labour costs etc ni living wage etc
obviously we've got the challenge of the move to electric where after sales revenue will also
decrease there's less things to go wrong there's things to replace etc so I think we need to grow
to support ourselves going forwards because the networks still are probably ripped to market
so very much I've got an ambition over the coming years that as we launch the new models
you know we mentioned about 70 percent conquest 30 percent carnivalization we need to be adding
the 70 percent song to our existing base and then we should see that growth over the coming years
that's really what we've got to be laser like you mentioned dealers and I'm hoping it doesn't sound
like I'm looking at my notes but 140 around 140 sites in the UK now uh six new sites in the last
six months which is sort of a reassuring sign that the physical dealer still has a place what
role do they play if we hear so much about you know the buying process is going digital for a
long time at a like agency was going to be the next big thing do you think Nissan is one of those
brands that just you know it needs that physical retail I'm a great believer that you need a strong
retailer network and I think they do a great job and I think it's more important than ever
that they're there because you have got all these choices so you've got traditional ice you've got
in our case e-powers and unique hybrid powertrain and you've got full electric and you need really
good partners making sure that the customers are presented with those different options and are
really clear why again both the positives and the negatives around those around those choices
and that's why I think the dealer network is super important we're looking obviously to continue
to kind of fill out a few open points as well over the coming year or so and then you know we'll
finish with a really good representation we've already got a really strong after sales representation
again probably really important for the fleet customers and they don't talk about van so much but
van customers as well I do love a van as well but van customers as well so we've got a really good
after sales network coverage really good and we've definitely got with convenience just a
few little dots on the map that we still need to fill out but yet it's again I think a real
powerful reflection on where the brand's going and people can kind of see the future with a new
product they went into invest to put that that new investment and those new stores in I remember
one executive wants telling me that physical dealers were important because people want to touch
smell and taste the cars I think he might be doing it wrong but what's the profile like of a
of a modern Nissan buyer you operate in very disparate segments you know they've got the
micro coming in at the bottom which I imagine targets inherently a younger buyer I mean we've
even been told it's less of a grandma car now sort of thing so is that demographic evolving
I think for any mass market brand you've really got trying to appeal to as many people as you
possibly can and across the demographic age groups I think across and people that are really
at the early kind of EV adopters all the way to the people who probably don't know I mean you
if we need to make sure that we're covering kind of all the all the bases so I don't think
there's kind of same right we're targeting this particular or that particular sub-segment we're
going to have a very broad range of cars across a real broad range of payments and across a broad
range of power trains and that is going to appeal to lots of different different types of people I'm
sure you mentioned competition earlier it's just you know it's the buzzword at the moment isn't it
it feels like every day I wake up and I write about a new brand that's coming to the UK
what what does that mean for you you know there are brands now that didn't exist six months ago
but already have a 4% market share in the UK and they're playing right in Nissan Heartland
Territory potentially undercutting it by by quite a few thousand pounds how do you confront that
yeah it's a really good point I think I think certainly obviously as one of the largest you
know I said we've got a number one for search for small SGB number one search for mid SGB so
doubtfully we've been we've been targeted more of those competitors because we're the the lead
brands in those markets I think how do we differentiate ourselves I think part is the
the dealer network we need that dealer network really really strong I think part is our heritage
in electric as we move towards that transition to you know a more EV orientated marketplace that
heritage is going to be really important the other word I would use is trust I think Nissan's
a very trusted brand if you're making that leap to a new technology I think you want to do that
with somebody that you know is going to have your back and we know for you know I guess Fiskrup
be probably a good example of brands that come and brands that go we don't necessarily know all
these brands come in or necessarily still be here in two five ten years ten years time you know I
think we could be confident Nissan's still going to be here in two five ten years ten years time
so I think that that trust element and that longevity is also going to be really important
to us but also critically comes down to the product doesn't it ultimately we need you guys
right in this is the best car in that segment that's ultimately also makes a huge huge difference
because probably more than ever now you know people are doing more research before they shortlist
you know what they want to go and look at back to your point about the MC feel and taste of the car
so I think that bit is also really important you need to have really really good
product and I think I mentioned leave obviously all the legacy up to 400 mile range really really
strong it's going to be certainly very much amongst the most efficient cars in terms of miles per
kilowatt hour there isn't a whole market place that's going to be a real strength for us obviously
the anticipation of the 3750 grant that's going to be a real strength rent strength for us and
Microsoft's got some five-star reviews already that's a real strength we've got V2G coming that
can be a differentiator on product as well and then and then the wider message around that
and as I said then we've got some really exciting products coming not too far away that I think
are really going to be game changers in terms of design so ultimately in the short term you know
you can kind of be quite defensive and you've got a lot we've got lots of strengths that help us
with that defensive strategy but in the medium term it's got to be product and you've got to be on the
audience that's interesting you mentioned sort of five five six aspects of competitiveness there
but you didn't you didn't mention headline price which I think is is is telling maybe do you think
that's a less of a less of a motivating factor now I think I think it's really about value rather
than necessarily price but I think if you looked at Nissan historically it's always had been
competitively offered competitive value versus the competition and I don't think that's our biggest
issue today I think we do offer great value for the customers I think we can see that in terms of
we've got two cars in the top five sellers you know we could only do that because we're strong in
pretty much all the channels in the marketplace and we're strong because we offer real competitive
value for money effectively so I think it will be important for a certain cohort of customers
that's definitely true but equally I think for the vast majority of customers absolute pound
notes per month will not be the absolute defining choice of what they go on to buy because they want
to consider it within that whole package of some of the little things I mentioned around the brands
about heritage around about trust around about convenience number of sides we've got etc there's
lots of other reasons that play into that final decision and of course reviews and the quality
of the product fantastic we're coming to the end now but without without asking you to breach any
NDAs or embargoes just give us a bit of a reason to get excited beyond the leaf beyond the micro
what can we look forward to yeah I think I think you'll see that obviously new GTVs slave production
up in Sunderland as well and again I think I'd say go online look at the hyperpunk concept car
that'll give you a really good idea of the kind of design direction and that's coming ahead for us
so if that doesn't get you excited nothing will that'll be a going changing product yeah that's
quite a wild looking thing I think if someone presented you that five years ago and said here's
the new Nissan SUV you'd be you'd be laughing right so we'll leave it there thank you very much
for coming in thank you very much for giving us that insight it's been great to speak to you James
thank you thank you and thank you for listening we'll see you next time thank you very much
thanks for joining us for this podcast brought to you in association with Anderson EV visit
Anderson dash EV dot com for much more my weekend cars will return next and every Wednesday
About this episode
Felix Page sits down with Nissan UK's Managing Director, James Taylor, to discuss Nissan's strategic shift towards electrification and product expansion. Taylor shares insights from his first five months in the role, emphasizing the brand's strong position in the UK market and the importance of local manufacturing. The conversation covers the upcoming launch of new electric models, including the Leaf and Micra, and the challenges posed by increasing competition in the EV space. Taylor also highlights the significance of consumer perception and the role of Nissan's dealer network in facilitating the transition to electric vehicles.
In this week's Autocar Meets podcast, Deputy Editor Felix Page meets Nissan GB's managing director James Taylor.
Appointed in May of this year, Taylor brought to Nissan a raft of experience within the automotive industry, including most recently being managing director of Vauxhall UK, as well as senior roles within Stellantis.
He joined Nissan at an important time, too, just ahead of launching the all-new Micra and an all-new Leaf. Felix Page caught up with him to find out how the brand will get back to the front of the EV race, having spearheaded the electric movement, and how its positioning and customer base are changing.
