Nissan is looking across the border to find away take market share from its rivals such has Honda and Toyota. The automaker is already very successful with Hispanic car-buyers; they now plan on bringing Mexican dealership groups into the US, to focus on key markets and give Nissan an edge.
According to Automotive News, the new dealerships will not be American dealers that are owned by Mexicans, but rather successful dealership groups within Mexico that will expand into strategic US metro areas.
Currently Nissan owns 26.2 percent of the automotive market share in Mexico, their goal for the US is to capture just 10 percent of the market. The brand sees the current and growing Hispanic population as an opportunity to increase sales. Jose Munoz, Nissan's North America's chairman was formally in charge of Nissan Mexico. He helped the brand to its current number one market position.
"We have a strategy to reach consumers of all kinds, but the Hispanic consumer is a key focus for us...Nissan is well-known in Mexico. And if those customers come to the United States, I believe they will buy Nissan vehicles here, too." - Munoz
Why Mexican car dealers?
When Nissan examined the dealership situation it Mexico five years ago it found that the dealerships had yearly contract renewals. This gave Nissan some leverage to weed out the dealers who were under-performing and support those retailers who displayed both sales performance and loyalty to the brand.
"Because they have the money, and they have the willingness to do it...And also because for many of them, they have the allegiance to Nissan to do it." - Fernando Somoza Soni Auto Group
Nissan plans on using established auto groups from Mexico to acquire dealerships in key Hispanic markets such as California, Texas, and Florida. But the brand is aware that they can't limited themselves to just one buying demographic.
"We have to tackle this opportunity with care...We don't want to portray ourselves as only a Mexico company for all the other people of the area. The San Francisco Bay Area is a very diverse community.
"But when we speak to the Mexican and Hispanic market, we're going to have some advantage compared to U.S. dealers." - Autocom Auto Group President Manuel Garrido
If you have a question, a tip, or something you would like to to share about car-buying, drop me a line at AutomatchConsulting@gmail.com and be sure to include your Kinja handle.