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(08:30 March 26, 2004)
Quest sales disappoint: Nissan execs blame the mix of options, grades
By KATHY JACKSON AND MARK RECHTIN
Automotive News
LOS ANGELES -- Nissan's radically styled 2004 Quest minivan has turned into a huge sales disappointment.
The Quest was counted on to make a breakthrough for Nissan in a key segment. But sales are short of expectations, even after several launch glitches were fixed and incentives were added.
When Nissan introduced the all-new model in July, executives predicted sales of 80,000 to 85,000 in 2004. But volume has ranged between 3,000 and 4,000 a month.
Sales totaled only 8,052 units for the first two months of this year, and the company had a 100-day supply of vehicles on March 1.
Nissan executives in Japan are unhappy. Patrick Pelata, executive vice president for planning and design at Nissan Motor Co., said the company fumbled the marketing.
"We made a poor planning of options and grades," he said. "It's made a huge mess with suppliers and the plant and the whole distribution network. We are selling 50 percent below plan for our entry-level model. We are on target for the midgrade, but we are building well below the number of top-grade models that people want."
Pelata said Nissan also did not order enough of some popular options from suppliers.
"Reversing that takes time," he said. "When this happens, you can lose dozens of millions of dollars."
Nissan made three blunders, said Simon Sproule, vice president of corporate communications at Nissan North America Inc. He said the company miscalculated demand for the top-of-the-line SE model, the skyview sunroof and the rear-seat DVD entertainment system. Sproule said the problems have been fixed.
Full Story Here
Quest sales disappoint: Nissan execs blame the mix of options, grades
By KATHY JACKSON AND MARK RECHTIN
Automotive News
LOS ANGELES -- Nissan's radically styled 2004 Quest minivan has turned into a huge sales disappointment.
The Quest was counted on to make a breakthrough for Nissan in a key segment. But sales are short of expectations, even after several launch glitches were fixed and incentives were added.
When Nissan introduced the all-new model in July, executives predicted sales of 80,000 to 85,000 in 2004. But volume has ranged between 3,000 and 4,000 a month.
Sales totaled only 8,052 units for the first two months of this year, and the company had a 100-day supply of vehicles on March 1.
Nissan executives in Japan are unhappy. Patrick Pelata, executive vice president for planning and design at Nissan Motor Co., said the company fumbled the marketing.
"We made a poor planning of options and grades," he said. "It's made a huge mess with suppliers and the plant and the whole distribution network. We are selling 50 percent below plan for our entry-level model. We are on target for the midgrade, but we are building well below the number of top-grade models that people want."
Pelata said Nissan also did not order enough of some popular options from suppliers.
"Reversing that takes time," he said. "When this happens, you can lose dozens of millions of dollars."
Nissan made three blunders, said Simon Sproule, vice president of corporate communications at Nissan North America Inc. He said the company miscalculated demand for the top-of-the-line SE model, the skyview sunroof and the rear-seat DVD entertainment system. Sproule said the problems have been fixed.
Full Story Here
