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Stephen Lester

NISSAN Australia’s new managing director Stephen Lester – who took the reins of the company in September from departing boss Richard Emery – has marked his first few months in the role by meeting dealers and assuaging concerns surrounding the changeover.

When asked by GoAutoNews Premium last week how dealers have taken the change in leadership, Mr Lester replied: “As soon as they coached me on how to say Nissan properly, it got a lot better.”

Speaking at the launch of the facelifted Nissan Qashqai, Mr Lester said: “The feedback has been, I would say, guarded in a sense of let’s see what you can do, which I expect and respect as a very fair way for any pragmatic person to operate.”

Mr Lester, formerly Infiniti Canada’s boss, said he was happy with the current dealer network size and had nothing but praise for Nissan Australia retailers.

“We have more than enough dealers in the country and we’re extremely well represented by a very good group of dealers across the country, large and small, metro and non-metro, rural – and now knowing a little bit more about Australia – I would say even more rural,” he said.

“But they’re enthusiastic, passionate, committed and that’s absolutely what any MD would want to have.”

Tasked with driving up Nissan’s shares and sales – which have dropped 15.8 per cent year-on-year for the first 11 months of 2017 – Mr Lester would not be drawn on exact details of his plan, but said strong communication with the dealers was paramount.

“Here you’ve inherited a network of cautious believers, and I would say I’m the reason for the cautious part, which is fair, but they’re believers in Nissan,” he said.

Nissan Leaf

“So if they believe, and we can do the right things and we can support them and make sure that our communication is strong and wholesome, then we actually can develop a formula through some hard work that will work for Nissan and will see our share grow in this market.”

To drive up interest in the brand, Mr Lester is expected to bring in fresh Nissan product, including a possible return to the passenger car segment after the discontinuation of the Maxima, Altima, Pulsar and Micra.

On the horizon, Nissan Australia will release its next-generation Leaf electric vehicle (EV) while the Note e-Power range-extender is also likely to bolster the Japanese car-maker’s ranks in the mid-term future.

Nissan Pulsar

However, Mr Lester said the strength and passion of dealers, in addition to a competitive portfolio, will be a boon for Nissan in the future.

“Deep down in their core when you ask them about Nissan and get into a little bit of their history, you really unlock where their passions lie and that’s really what I think is incredibly exciting and what makes me optimistic about our organisation,” he said.

“With so many dealers that have a true Nissan perspective and a true Nissan DNA within them there are a whole host of opportunities that open up for our brand,” he said.

Nissan Micra

“There is nothing harder and more difficult than converting a non-believer in the world.”

Mr Lester encouraged strong feedback from dealers, which he identified would be crucial to turning Nissan’s fortunes, and that “there are no sacred cows in the business”.

Nissan’s luxury sub-brand Infiniti is also an area that Mr Lester highlighted would also undergo the same restructuring with the view to lift sales and share.

By Tung Nguyen

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