U.S. Nissan head Jérémie Papin joins from the New York International Auto Show to give a preview of what’s to come from the carmaker – including the 2025 Nissan Kicks.

Opening Bell

Get an Early Look at the New York Auto Show

The New York International Auto Show starts this week and we've got a sneak peek this morning from the floor of the Javits Center in Midtown Manhattan with the US CEO of Nissan Jeremy Paon at Jeremy. Welcome. Good morning, Kristen. All right. So you got some very shiny spiffy cars behind you. Uh Tell me what our viewers can see at a look from the auto show there. Good morning. Yeah, the viewers can see our all new kicks. I think we're coming in with a very, very strong design, a great driving experience and uh technology packed at the right price point for the US consumer at the moment. So this is really the highlight of the show coming out for Nissan with the all new kicks. Uh We also have an amazing QX 80 at infinity. So that's two very strong products coming out of the Nissan family for this photo show. Interesting. So what are some of the new innovations in upgrades that consumers will be able to find with your vehicles? Yeah, we're coming in with obviously uh enhanced connectivity, enhanced uh um uh all wheel drive technology in a uh uh you know, lower SUV, uh segment, uh, that we didn't offer in the past as well as, uh, um, you know, improve the copilot, uh, to uh, uh technology in terms of uh driving uh assistance. So there's a lot of, uh, technology being brought into more of an entry level, uh, size of the segment. I see the 2024 Nissan kicks campaign. The tag line is smart and fuel efficient, Jeremy. Just how fuel efficient are these vehicles? No, we are talking vehicles that go easily into the high 20 MPG and uh it's really what you need at the moment. Uh I would say in terms of getting around uh within a, within a budget, getting around in a budget, the infrastructure is something that the Biden administration has committed billions of dollars to. How much is your company relying on some of that infrastructure and these investments in order to push forward into the new future of electric vehicles. Yeah, the, the Nissan is very committed to electrification and to just bring into the consumer, the cars they want and they need, we have two evs in market at the moment. Uh an affordable pe with the leaf and a more sophisticated technology packed vehicle with the Nissan Aria. Um Both of them are, you know, fully, I would say surfing the trend of growing demand from the consumers. And again, we are committed to bringing in hybrids, PHS and more s over the next three years as part of our midterm plan, basically offering the customer the full choice of power train that he wants to have and we are being, you know, compliant or optimizing what the administration has to offer in terms of localization of the production and facilitating the access to automobiles, electric automobiles by the government. What are the price points that consumers can expect, Jeremy? And how do you ensure that those are competitive in the space? I think what matters is to manage monthly payments that the consumers can feel very comfortable with. And that's what we do at every level of the segment. We are aiming at being very competitive and still bringing the best of the technology, the best possible design, the best driving experience than what can happen. It is something we do very systematically. We're obviously doing it with our new cakes. We're doing it with our electric vehicles and we're doing it across all of our segments. It's what we do at Nissan making sure we can have a car for anyone and for all, what of the sales and profit targets for the year for your division, Jeremy. The company's mid term plan is to grow by a million units and achieve a 6% operating margin level with a currency that would be less supportive than it is today in terms of exchange rates. So I would say those are quite solid and ambitious targets. While we do that, we grow and we invest in future technologies, we prepare for what is going to be on the road by the end of the decade. And so that's the normal cycle of of automotive, I would say business management. But again, it's all about getting the cars on the market that the consumers want at the right time, at the right price point, as you have noted and obviously making it in a consistent growing profitable way, how higher borrowing costs are impacted your division as the head of Nissan US? Yeah, input costs are coming in and you know, we need to work through productivity, we need to work through economies of scale. We need to work through partnerships in order to leverage the size of the company, the size of our business in the US to be always offering the best to the consumers. And so we just do it relentlessly. Whatever is what we need to deal with energy costs have moved up or labor costs have moved up or other input costs have moved up and yet the company is capable of bringing very attractive vehicles at the right price points just as we are doing it now with our all new kicks. Where are you seeing most of the costs for the business these days? Is it inflation on parts? Is it still hiccups in the supply chain? What would you say? All of the above? I would say for sure there is an increase in the supply of parts increase in logistics cost. Again, size and efficiency comes through productivity gains are how you end up offsetting these costs over time, whether it's a few quarters or a bit longer. And again, opening up to partnerships when we know we won't be able to do it alone and there are smarter ways of producing together with others. What are you hoping comes out of the auto show uh for Nissan this year, I think, I think again, I think what the consumers and the viewers can appreciate is the power of the products, the power of the new products that are coming in and you know how much of a step up continuously technology is being brought into the vehicles. And I think that's a, you know, thrill and something that's worth a look by everybody. All right, us C of Nissan Jeremy Pepon coming to us live from midtown Manhattan at the New York Auto Show in the J Center. Jeremy. Thank you.