2017 Geneva Motor Show Press Conference speech
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
Last year, right here in Geneva, we announced our Nissan Intelligent Mobility vision.
It looks to the future of mobility– how cars will drive, how they will be powered, and how they will integrate into the world around us.
At the heart of Nissan Intelligent Mobility is innovation.
But innovation alone isn’t enough.
It also takes ingenuity which has been a part of Nissan’s DNA from the very beginning.
Today, we are using innovation and ingenuity to drive everyone toward a better future.
While you’ll hear many companies here at Geneva sharing concepts, theories, and “what if’s”, we have put Nissan Intelligent Mobility at the very heart of our product strategy delivering it to our customers today.
Nissan Intelligent Mobility has three pillars – Intelligent Driving, Intelligent Power, and Intelligent Integration.
Intelligent Driving is about making driving safer and more accessible.
Just last week, in the demanding conditions of London’s roads, we showcased our next generation Autonomous Driving experience, including roundabout navigation, lane departure and overtaking, using our 100% electric LEAF.
This means real Nissan cars are now on real European roads, driving autonomously.
And it builds on the announcements we made at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year, where we demonstrated Seamless Autonomous Mobility – or SAM – which has been developed from NASA technology.
The second pillar is Intelligent Power.
That means powering our vehicles in a way that is more sustainable – but also more exciting.
We have been making electric vehicles longer than any other company.
We’ve sold more than any other company and our plans for the future are more robust than any other company.
Seven years ago, we pioneered the mass-market electric vehicle with the Nissan LEAF.
It remains the world’s best-selling EV. Working prototypes like the Nissan Bladeglider have also shown the world what a high-performance EV can look like and how exciting this technology is to drive.
We are busy creating new electric vehicles for a new generation and our electric line-up is about to grow even further.
Watch... this... space.
And that brings me to the final pillar of Nissan Intelligent Mobility – Intelligent Integration.
So for us, just thinking about an electric vehicle as a car - is a wasted opportunity.
We are also looking at what we can do beyond the product – to help power homes and business – and even to help cities manage their grids.
As we speak, we’re taking orders for our first Nissan xStorage units that can power people's homes using Nissan Leaf batteries.
We are also partnering with energy management experts EATON to help power the Amsterdam Arena in a similar way.
We are also integrating our cars with the big trends that are impacting our society.
For example, this month, we launch our pioneering new service: Intelligent Get & Go on our all new five-star rated Micra.
Nissan Intelligent Get & Go recognises the emergence of the sharing society, where consumers are looking for access rather than outright ownership.
Just like social networking and digital dating platforms, this shared leasing scheme uses algorithms to digitally match consumer driving and lifestyle profiles.
That means groups of drivers can, together, lease and use a single car.
Starting tomorrow morning the new Micra will be delivered to customers in dealerships across Western Europe.
So as you can see - Nissan Intelligent Mobility now guides every product and service that we develop and deliver today.
And that brings us to the real star of the show.
Ten years ago we created a new segment – the Crossover – with the Nissan Qashqai.
It has since become Europe’s best loved, and best-selling Crossover vehicle.
Never before was there a car that combined the desirability of an SUV with the size, efficiency and driving dynamics of a compact hatchback.
The compact Crossover segment makes up 12.7 percent of the total industry volume and 2.3 million units in sales each year in Europe.
Over the past 10 years, the Qashqai has been honored with more than 80 international awards and has won car of the year in 19 different countries.
Even as the competition in this segment has increased, so has the Qashqai’s sales.
It has broken the old convention of lifecycles – increasing sales by 79 percent between 2007 and 2016.
To date Qashqai has been chosen by nearly 2.3 million customers in Europe, our fastest selling, most successful model ever.
However, today is not about celebrating the past. It’s about looking to the future.
So it is my pleasure to introduce to you our new Nissan Qashqai...
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With this car, we will continue to dominate the Crossover space and set new standards in its class.
It delivers more dynamic styling, more premium quality and more intelligent driving technology.
This Qashqai will be available with our ProPILOT autonomous driving technology - delivering a more confident and exciting drive for customers.
Innovation and Ingenuity are at the heart of what Nissan and Qashqai delivers.
So as we enter our second decade of Crossover Leadership, how have we upgraded the Qashqai to sustain its success?
To start with, it’s more dynamic, sportier, and has a more premium look & feel than ever before.
We’ve enhanced the V-motion grille, the alloys, and the signature lighting with sleek and strong LED’s enhancing both safety and design.
Inside the cabin, the quality continues, delivering a better on board experience with high quality seats made from premium materials and a Bose advanced sound system.
The experience we’re delivering our customers inside the car will also be calmer and quieter, thanks to advances in aerodynamics and sound insulation – reducing both vehicle drag and noise levels.
Plus, the new Qashqai’s driving quality is more comfortable and agile through the re-engineered suspension and precise steering.
However, it is the technology that really makes this Qashqai the game-changing car in Europe.
We are democratizing our most advanced technology to make it truly accessible to more consumers than ever before.
Technology that was previously the domain of only the privileged few will now be available to all, on this best-selling, segment defining, king of the crossover – the Nissan Qashqai.
It is packed with a host of Intelligent Driving technologies.
From Intelligent Emergency Braking with pedestrian recognition, to the addition of Intelligent Lane Intervention.
The all new Qashqai delivers the most comprehensive array of driver assist safety technologies.
Together, these technologies form the building blocks that enable our new Qashqai to offer our ProPILOT autonomous driving system – a huge leap forward for our company and our customers.
This first phase of the technology controls the steering, braking and acceleration within a single lane on the highway.
This means that, in a traffic jam, the Qashqai will autonomously follow the car in front.
At higher speeds, Qashqai will effortlessly cruise through a single lane autonomously, steering and precisely controlling distance to the vehicle in front.
This technology will transform how we all drive, allowing a more liberating, confident, safer, yet exciting experience.
At Nissan, we have a proud track record of democratizing advanced technologies for our customers - from cruise control to around view 360-degree cameras.
We will continue this trend with our new Qashqai delivering ProPILOT technology to drivers across Europe within the next 12 months.
And, with a new LEAF also equipped with ProPILOT coming soon, our autonomous line-up is growing with more choice than ever before on our best-loved models.
We are proud of the Qashqai’s first 10 years.
It has been a story of unparalleled success and unrivaled leadership in this segment.
And with this new Qashqai – designed, engineered, and built for a new era of Nissan Intelligent Mobility – we are even more excited about the next 10 years and beyond.
Thank you.
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