A year in the role of fleet director at Nissan has given Csaba Vincze the chance to make some changes and plan for what he hopes will be a successful period for the Japanese brand. He explains all to John Challen.

Nissan fleet director Csaba Vincze

How has your time been in the new job?

Firstly, I would say it’s been very busy, but fun at the same time. I have a fantastic team who are very professional and who have responded positively to the changes I’ve made.

The people within the UK fleet market – and our stakeholders – are very welcoming. When I took the job, my priority was to get out to meet as many people as possible. In fact, since I started, we’ve had more than a dozen fleet-specific events, which has helped me achieve that goal. It’s important, because I believe that people buy from people. So I needed to make sure that they know me and I know them, because establishing those business relationships is vital. From a fleet perspective, the past year has also been interesting with the launch of Ariya and Townstar – two products that are important as we renew our lineup for fleet drivers and customers, which also includes our new Qashqai and Juke hybrids.

What were the changes you made?

I saw that there was a lot of potential for Nissan in the public sector, so we now have a dedicated public sector specialist who has been working in that area for some time. That was a relatively quick fix, but there have been more complex changes as well. For example, since April, we have had a dedicated dealer fleet programme, which is focused on institutional feet activities. We call them ‘super fleet dealers’ and we wanted ten initially, with specific expectations.

Those expectations are based on what experience they deliver to our customers, because everything we sell in fleet, goes through the dealers. So, knowing the level of experience these dealers have – and level of quality they provide – is key to our success there. There’s nothing extraordinary or ground-breaking in there – it’s similar to what a leasing company requires, for example. We wanted 10 dealers to ensure a good geographical coverage, but we actually managed 13, because more dealers wanted to join the programme!

We also looked at managing the vehicle supply – thanks to a very clear prioritisation approach between the sub-channels within fleet. With this strategy, we can plan ahead and anticipate how we go to market with certain vehicles, with no ambiguity or conflict of interest.

How has your business been affected by the lack of vehicles or components?

I’m not saying we haven’t been affected any differently from other brands but, in September, our market share was the highest and strongest it’s been since 2018 –6.2% in true fleet. If you look at the mainstream OEMs, that was the biggest true fleet share increase year-on-year in September. While that market share doesn’t tell you everything, it is a good indicator of supply and the impact of some of the changes that we implemented.

Looking back on 2022, what were the highlights?

Ariya was a big success for us. We launched it in the summer and the first units started to arrive in August. However, we’d already reached 1,000 units in the order bank in fleet before then. That is not only higher than we set as a target but, overall, it is a major positive and shows that our expectations – and how we positioned the car – were spot on. Ariya is a big part of our fleet strategy and we have a very clear idea of how to support fleet. Not restricting Ariya from the fleet channels was very much the right and responsible decision.

What are Nissan’s fleet plans for the next 12 months?

One of the plans is ongoing and that is the re-launch of our van lineup. We are launching Townstar, but already have new Primastar and Interstar and will have a dedicated dealer network for vans in 2023. In the past, our dealer fleet programme was focused on passenger cars and vans combined, but commercial vehicle customers have specific requirements and we see an opportunity to better serve them there.

We are excited about having Ariya on the market for a full year. We’ve already seen how important that car is to Nissan – it remains our flagship, which is vital from a brand point of view.

We also need to further explore the public sector. With the new products we have coming out, I think there are a lot of positive developments happening at the right time, there.

Away from Ariya, how is Nissan’s fleet proposition looking?

For company car drivers who want to take advantage of the taxation benefits of EVs, we still believe LEAF is a very strong proposition. The way drivers are reacting to it is a real positive and we still have a lot of interest. But for those not ready for EVs, we have e-Power, which we see as an effective stepping stone to electric. For the next 12 months, the X-Trail e-Power will be a more significant offer on fleet than I thought at the beginning, partly because of its availability, supply and positioning. While it might not be a massive volume driver – that’s not the purpose with that product – it’s probably going to be the only seven-seater in the segment. Therefore it will capture plenty of market opportunity in the next 12 months and beyond 2023.

Since we announced X-Trail, we’ve received many inquiries from different companies about it – mainly because of the seven seat option. That’s our key USP with that car.

Why should fleets choose Nissans?

I see our positioning as very specific, because we have the experience. And it’s not just because LEAF has 500,000 units sold worldwide, the UK-specific level is important too. We sold more than 10,000 ENV200s in the UK and now we have Townstar as well. So what I see on the market – and through talking to many corporate customers and leasing companies – is that they see it as a challenge. Shifting to electric fleets is still a big hurdle for drivers because they need to figure out the infrastructure, how their drivers will charge the vehicles, how many EVs they can put on the fleet and how they manage fleet efficiency – it’s very different to ICE fleets. Fortunately, we have cooperation with partners who can help with this and that is why they should also trust us as partners on this journey.

When I presented at MOVE 2022 earlier in the year I did so because I wanted people to see who we are, not to sell vehicles or promote products. In fact, I didn’t even talk about products, just about Nissan as a partner in the shift to EV. We also have drivers who can talk about their experiences. One of the things we are doing is getting testimonials from them because that customer-centric element needs to be kept in focus. I want to make sure their experience is good. Why are we doing that now? Because have a renewed lineup that covers a wide range of options for drivers.

How has e-Power been received by fleets?

It is early days but there has been interest from fleets. We are still waiting for more demonstrator vehicles but, from a TCO point of view, it is an approach that gets people talking. And, from a driver’s perspective, my opinion is that it provides the opportunity to get used to how an EV drives. You don’t need to plug it in, which is a struggle for some drivers. Many fleet managers talk about issues such as on-street charging, but with e-Power you don’t need to worry about that.

What are the targets and aspirations for Nissan in fleet for 2023?

We don’t have any specific targets set, the market share figures are just used as a guide to evidence the success we had in the past. But our number one objective is always to focus on our customers – and that is especially important in fleet. For me and my team, the goal is to keep the structure we have and go to market in the most efficient way and to satisfy our customers. It’s also important to keep the dialogue open, to have a very close relationship and to be there when customers or drivers need to ask questions or need vehicles.

Something else we don’t talk about much is how we’ve invested a lot of time and money in our CRM system to make it more efficient and relevant. In terms of market share and specific ambitions, we will have to wait and see but, obviously, I’m very optimistic and positive about the future, especially with the products that we offer now, but didn’t have in 2022.

IN PROFILE

Number of models  8

Best fleet seller  Qashqai (5,647)

Next model launch Townstar

FLEET FACT

During our Ariya pre-launch activities, we organised a product review to which a number of leasing companies were invited. The delegates from one particular company made a very thorough assessment – with one of our guests even lying on the floor to check out the underneath of the car!

Aims for the future

To be the go-to manufacturer for companies as they transition from ICE to EV fleet management. Our aim is not only to provide mobility solutions with our already well-known and well-respected vehicles, but also with our new products.

Who’s Czaba Vincze?

Vincze’s time at Nissan began in his native Hungary in 2006, after joining the company as a business analyst from the country’s Raiffeisen Bank. He moved to the Central and Eastern Europe region in 2010 as a business manager, before swapping into marketing – firstly as a product manager of commercial vehicles and then for Nissan’s small and sports car lineup.

By 2015, he had moved into sales – initially concentrating on Hungary before returning to Central and Eastern Europe to lead sales. Under his stewardship, the region recorded records in sales volumes and profits and a transfer to the UK was his reward. Initially responsible for strategy and business planning, he assumed the position of fleet sales director in October 2021.