Nissan’s kinder, gentler approach to EVs: Leave no dealer behind

Nissan Canada CEO Steve Milette didn’t name Ford Motor Co., but he suggested that his company’s strategy for readying dealers for the electric-vehicle era avoids the missteps of its Detroit competitor.

Nissan’s 209 retailers will be required to invest in EV upgrades, Milette said during the April 14 Automotive News Canada Podcast. The amount, he said, will vary according to the dealership’s size.

“It’s very individualized to the dealer. So, depending on the size of the dealership, that would dictate how many technicians would need to be certified, how many salespeople would need to be certified.”

All dealers will have to meet certain standardized requirements, such as installing Level 3 charging stations, he noted. But, the overall investment, “is not as significant ... as you’ve seen in the media from some competitors.”

Indeed, Ford’s recent battle with dealers balking at having to spend up to $1.3 million for the right to sell EVs has generated headlines in Canada and the United States.

Dealers in some jurisdictions south of the border are fighting the automaker in court. In Canada, the controversy recently subsided somewhat after months of acrimonious negotiations between Ford Canada and a group of dealers pushing for changes to Ford’s e-certified program.

Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, the automaker appeared to listen to retailers demanding that it tailor required upgrades and investments according to dealers’ individual market realities.

It’s an approach that makes sense, particularly when the level of electric-vehicle adoption varies across the provinces.

Quebec and British Columbia, for example, have the highest EV adoption rates, thanks to supportive policies such as provincial consumer rebates and zero-emission-vehicle mandates compelling automakers to reach legislated EV targets.

EV technology, said Milette, “will evolve right across Canada.”

But, “there are easier markets to launch vehicles like province of Quebec, like the province of B.C., where they have had local programs ... for years. But we want to bring the whole network of Nissan forward.”

Retailers, he said, will be ushered into the EV era at a pace that will leave “no dealer behind.”