We first asked Taylor how the new Micra was going to be marketed in the UK compared with its sister car, the Renault 5 E-Tech, and how Nissan was going to make clear the differentiation between the two models?
He said: “We’ve started already, as we’ve been out with some of the leasing companies, so clearly, it’s a big awareness drive.
“The advantage for Nissan is we don’t have another small car! So, if you do want a Nissan, and that’s the brand that appeals to you, there’s no choice other than buying a three-year old used car. From that point of view, it’s offering something that’s not there.
“From an awareness point of view, we’ve got a good presence in the fleet industry, Qashqai and Juke are super strong. I think another advantage for us is the legacy of Leaf, as we’ve got all that latent consideration of Nissan as an electric brand. That puts us in a better position than many of the mainstream competitors, because the Leaf is going into its third generation, and clearly there’s a lot of fleets over time that have had one. Whether it was 10 for their sales team, or whether it was one as a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) gesture. So, they’ve had that interaction with Nissan. That will give us a real advantage compared to our rivals in the space.
“The other big advantage for us is that Micra will get the [Electric Car Grant], alongside the Ariya which has been repositioned. Then, we’ve got a new Leaf coming as well, which we expect to get the larger grant. So, we’ve got a complete product offering for fleets that benefit from the grant. It is a benefit that all our EV products qualify, which isn’t always the case for our competitors.
“There might be some choice lists that stipulate they only want cars with the grant, for example. This is because people feel like they’re getting something extra, because of the government contribution – that might play in our favour. Basically, we’ve just got to get out there, talking to as many people as we possibly can.
“With salary sacrifice, we’ve been talking to providers, and what they’re really looking for is offers for 20% taxpayers. So, to have some well-regarded smaller cars from established, trusted brands, with nameplates that people are familiar with, gives them trust – that’s going to be a big help with Micra. It will fill a hole where there’s not too many options.”
With the previous Leaf having done good numbers in fleet until it was discontinued, we asked Taylor if he thought there was a chance for the Micra to conquest in fleet, or if it would be a Leaf replacement for buyers?
He said: “All electric cars are conquesting at high percentages, as most people who choose electric have come from a different brand – partly because there’s not full market coverage.
“The Micra conquest ratio is going to be around 70%. We might be a little less, because we’ve got the opportunity of switching people in from previous Leafs. This is something the dealer network is actively looking at. There is a dealer tour, which starts next month, which we’re running through to the end of the year.
“We’re going around every dealer, with Leaf and Micra, to show and demonstrate these new cars to customers. And we’re mirroring this event for leasing companies, big corporates, salary sacrifice providers, and that’s underway at the same time.”
We pointed out to Taylor that the Micra appeared to have come along at the right time for Nissan, as combined with the incoming Leaf it gave the manufacturer a suite of EV models to sell to fleet.
He said: “The fleet team are rubbing their hands with excitement, because they’ve got two new models, in two new segments, plus they’re both electric, and we know in the fleet company car world, most cars are electric, because of the BIK banding. So just having Ariya presented a bit of challenge for them.
“In terms of a salary sacrifice company car driver, there’s a huge opportunity for growth, which we’ve not had the product before to benefit from.
“The number of sole supply and dual supply accounts has depleted, versus my heyday of 10-15-years ago, but there are still opportunities, and we’ve got that full suite of models – and more coming down the line not that far down the road as well. We’ll end up very quickly with a wide electric range, that’s wider than the ICE car range.”
Our final question to Taylor centred on what he thought would be the key Micra fleet spec, and where he thought fleet drivers were going to come from?
He said: “I think they’ll predominantly come out of ICE-powered competition today. You can see it in many markets – certain demographics, want a certain size of car. They want a small car! So, those fleet drivers that don’t necessarily have a full EV fleet choice today, have got the choice of two different battery options with Micra, at slightly different price points. They’ve got the benefits of the lowest company car tax, and a good range on the bigger battery version.
“All those factors enable those people to move from ICE to EV, and if you think about change cycles, which are often four-years, you’re looking at buyers who didn’t have too many EV options in small cars. Whereas now, they’ve got that option too – and I think we will naturally see the growth in the EV market as they make that change.
“My natural view is that buyers will gravitate to the bigger battery, because of the better residuals. So, the price premium on the monthly payment, and the difference in tax is minimal. Most will migrate to the bigger battery, in the mid Advance trim. That tends to be how things play out for Nissan.”
