20 June 2022

Nissan will stick with the franchised model for the time being for its network, according to the brand’s managing director Andrew Humberstone.

Humberstone refused to rule out a switch to an agency model in future, but said it was “not on my agenda at the moment”.

He added: “All manufacturers are trying to drive down their total distribution cost and there are many ways to do that. One of them is to look at the relationship on the dealer margin. I’m not necessarily sure this is the kind of scene everybody thinks it is.

“That said, we are obviously considering all options, and all variables and all components within that. But for me, it’s not my priority today. It’s not a key issue for today.

“Anything that we do with the dealer network will be done in partnership with them and in close collaboration with them.”

Speaking exclusively to Auto Retail Agenda, Humberstone said he believed the majority of consumers still want to visit showrooms for test drives and to reaffirm their choice, although the majority of decisions will be made online.

* Read the full interview with Andrew Humberstone in the July issue of Auto Retail Bulletin: subscribe here

Tags: agency model, Nissan