Pulsar can succeed

The Pulsar small car can be a success for Nissan in Australia as long as the belief it should be the segment leader is abandoned and more realistic sales goals accepted for it.

And new Nissan Australia boss Richard Emery says those more realistic goals can only be set if the Pulsar’s weaknesses are recognised internally -- as well as its strengths.

“I think I can make Pulsar work at the level that makes sense for us,” Emery told motoring.com.au.

“I’ve said to my people [at Nissan] that we have to be absolutely honest to ourselves about what we have got. No rose coloured glasses. Don’t pretend it is better than Mazda3 in terms of customers’ brain space,” he stated.

Big sales for the Thai-built Pulsar, launched in Australia in January 2013 as a sedan and in May 2013 as a hatch, were a cornerstone of Emery's predecessors' plans for Nissan -- to grow overall sales to 100,000 and become the country’s leading new vehicle importer. But more stock was imported and registered than actually crossed the kerb from dealer to customers in 2013 as sales figures were artificially boosted.

The crash has come in 2014 with Pulsar sales officially down 25.5 per cent as Nissan dealers clear old stock. The same problem – on a smaller scale – applies to the Y62 V8 petrol Patrol, which sold in the 10s per month, when Nissan planned for sales in the hundreds.

Overall, Nissan sales are officially down 34.8 per cent year-on-year to end of April according to VFACTS official figures.

The stuffing of the supply 'pipeline' has also caused angst in the relationship between Nissan and its dealer network. The plans for significant sales growth were developed by former Nissan Australia bosses Dan Thompson and Bill Peffer, both of whom have since left Nissan altogether.

Emery, who joined Nissan Australia from Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific on April 1, said “fixing” Pulsar was one of his highest priorities.

“From my perspective it is making sure we are honest with ourselves and with our dealers, [understanding] this is what this car is worth in terms of volume, this is what it has got in spec,” he said.

“We have a Pulsar that is functional, big on space and it’s got all the spec. It doesn’t really have the same on-the-road presence as a Mazda3 or whatever else. So say ‘okay, it’s not going to be worth 2500 to 3000 cars a month, it's only going to be worth 1500 and that’s a success for us.’

“It is a bloody good place to start. And we haven’t been in that space yet," Emery admitted.

So far in 2014 the Pulsar is averaging around 950 sales per month, compared to about 1200 per month in 2013.

Emery said the over-estimation of sales targets was a result of internal passion for the product, a trait not restricted to Nissan.

“Product planners, whether they be in Australia, Japan or Germany, all think their car is the best in the marketplace.

“So what do they do with that assumption? They assume they are going to sell more than anyone else and they assume they can charge more than anyone else. No, no, no.

“Be honest with yourself... If the car isn’t going to be segment leader because it has some reservations in styling or specification or something else... success would [then] be it’s going to be number three in the segment behind [Toyota] Corolla and Mazda3.”

The current Pulsar replaced the spectacularly unsuccessful Tiida, which in turn was the successor to the strong selling N16 Pulsar.

Nissan has just announced a new Euro-built small car also named Pulsar that is yet to be confirmed for Australia. Emery says, however, he will seriously investigate opportunities the vehicle presents.