Automotive News - March 20, 2017 - 36

36 * MARCH 20, 2017

A new era for Nissan design
and the steering wheel folds away while the
seats rotate inward like a living room. In
TOKYO - Two non-Japanese designers, manual mode, the driver is in control with
one a veteran insider, the other just both hands on the wheel.
poached from a luxury-brand rival, face a
As non-Japanese, Albaisa and Habib may
difficult balancing act leading Nissan Motor steer Nissan away from the Japanese cultural
Co. into an era of new technology that influence Nakamura, 66, long championed.
promises to change the look of cars in unHabib, a Canadian of Lebanese descent,
predictable ways.
will be based at Nissan's global design cenAlfonso Albaisa, 52, is the seasoned Infini- ter in Atsugi, Japan, and report to Albaisa.
ti design chief tapped to head glob"Karim brings unique design
al styling starting April 1. He must
skills that will accelerate Infiniti's
continue a brand identity cultivatprogress toward the goal of ... exed over nearly 18 years by outgoing
panding our share in the global
styling boss Shiro Nakamura.
luxury market," Infiniti President
However, opportunity for new
Roland Krueger, another BMW
direction abounds thanks to electransplant, said in a statement.
trification, connectivity and auAt BMW, Habib was responsible
tonomous driving. Those changes
for such production and concept
are "bringing oxygen to our work- Albaisa: Chance cars as the X1, X2 Concept and
for new direction CSL Homage. Before BMW, he was
ing environments," Albaisa said.
"Adapting to this opportunity is
head of advanced design for
liberating," Albaisa said in an email
Daimler and helped develop the
to Automotive News. "As head of
current Mercedes-Benz C class.
design, I feel a major part of my job
Habib had overseen BMW deis to facilitate this liberation."
sign since 2012. He studied engiMeanwhile, Albaisa's successor
neering at Canada's McGill Uniat Infiniti, Karim Habib, 47, will imversity before attending the Art
port fresh ideas about European
Center College of Design in
luxury from his time as global dePasadena, Calif.
sign chief at BMW and work at Habib: Fresh
Before leading Infiniti, Albaisa
Mercedes-Benz. Habib joins Infini- ideas on luxury
ran Nissan's U.S. design studio in
ti July 1.
San Diego and Nissan's European
Nissan is rolling out its new Vmotion de- studios. At Infiniti, he steered the look of the
sign language across the lineup. Infiniti is brand's Emerg-E plug-in electric concept
embarking on its own makeover with a look from 2012 and designed the swoopy new prethat will mature in the soon-to-be released mium look that gives a more athletic, sculptQX50 crossover.
ed feel to the lineup, as seen in QX30 and up"Infiniti is still struggling in the shadow of coming QX50.
Germany's big 3, and some might still ask:
Under Albaisa, Infiniti also floated the
'What is the design language at Nissan?'" Q80 Inspiration, a large four-door fastback
said John Manoogian, a professor of trans- concept that signals a vision for a sleek and
portation design at the College for Creative sultry future halo car.
Studies in Detroit and a former General MoAlbaisa, a lion-maned, soft-spoken father
tors designer. "Hopefully, Nakamura's suc- of three daughters, is a University of Florida
cessors will take it to the next level."
industrial design graduate. He believes deThe sleek wedge-shaped Nissan IDS Con- signers must balance artistry with advances
cept shown at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show in everything from artificial intelligence to
hints at Nissan's thinking. Sometimes zero emissions.
pegged as a preview of the next-generation
"Even though the cars are becoming much
Leaf EV, the IDS teases an interior that more technological," Albaisa said in an intransforms between piloted and manual terview in September, "we want the fingermodes. In piloted mode, the car drives itself print of the artist in everything we do." c
Hans Greimel

hgreimel@crain.com

NAKAMURA

that didn't have a common Nissan brand
expression," Nakamura said. "Now each car
has individuality but looks more Nissan."

continued from Page 35

even avant-garde.
"I wanted to express Japanese DNA in the
design," Nakamura said.
As guardian of the brand's aura, Nakamura
used design as a fulcrum to change old American perceptions that Nissan was a discount
brand while winning new respect in Europe.

Stylish dandy
Nakamura's persona only helped the
cause. His impeccably tailored silk suits are
a personal trademark, along with his manicured mustache. The Osaka native is also a
jazz bass player who refuses to carry an iPod
for fear that it will limit his discovery of new
music. He enjoys making his own violins.
Fluent in English, he sometimes gushes
about Italian design, especially Alfa Romeos
and Ferraris from the 1960s. Yet when it
comes to his own cars, Nissan's design guru
sticks loyally to home. In his garage are a
1965 first-generation Nissan Silvia sport
coupe and a high-performance version of
the original Z sports car - a 1969 Z 432.
Nakamura said the biggest evolution during his tenure was the creation of a more
unified look across a lineup that spans vehicles from minicars and supercars to commercial trucks and pickups, in markets as diverse as India, Europe, the U.S. and Japan.
"In 1999, we had very diverse products

Looking ahead
As chief creative officer, Nakamura began
to ruminate publicly about retirement in recent years, though always remaining a fixture at auto shows. He also focused on
planting kernels of future creativity to sustain Nissan design after he leaves. Part of
that included expanding Nissan's studio
empire to the U.S., Britain and China.
The challenge covers not only attracting
right-brain types with artistic talent but also
logical left-brain types who can plot a design
business strategy and manage the team.
"The next generation has to be as strong
or even stronger than today," he said. "How
to create a strong creative team was my big
homework."
Looking to the future, Nakamura predicted that cars will split into two design tracks,
not unlike today's wristwatches.
Some cars, such as the Leaf, will be hightech, utilitarian appliances, like an Apple
Watch. Others, think GT-R, will be more
old-school aspirational collector's pieces,
like a fine-crafted mechanical Swiss
chronograph. But how that plays out in
metal, he said, is anybody's guess.
"In 10 years' time, I would like to see what
my successor does with the looks of the GT-R
and Leaf," Nakamura said. "It's not my design, but it will be very fun to see that." c

CRAIG
'Any tenth of share in any
segment isabattleground'
continued from Page 4

dol said. "She cares and seems to have the
best interest of all top of mind. We are partners and she understands that."

Regional incentives
Craig said the biggest result of the initial
meetings is that Ford plans to change how it
develops its incentives program, moving toward a regional, rather than national, approach.
That could mean tailoring incentives regionally based on competition or other factors, a practice it has tried in the past.
That contrasts with more recent Ford efforts such as its Volume Growth Bonus, a
stair-step program that ran from March 2015
through early 2016 and awarded per-vehicle
bonuses that increased as dealers hit individual volume thresholds.
While per-vehicle customer incentives are
rising, Craig noted that in February, Ford's increased about $90 from a year earlier to $4,570
while the industry's rose $380 to $3,830.
"We're very, very disciplined with our incentive approach, but we have to balance
that with keeping our dealers competitive,"
she said.
Craig said she's optimistic about Ford's sales
in 2017, and said the U.S. industry could do
even better than Ford's forecast of 17.7 million
new-vehicle sales, including medium- and
heavy-duty trucks, because many of the macroeconomic factors that drove record light-vehicle sales for the past two years are still in place.
Ford Motor's 2016 U.S. light-vehicle sales
fell 0.1 percent from the previous year to
2,599,211.
Through February, the automaker's sales
are down 2.5 percent from a year earlier to
378,650.
Much of Craig's optimism is rooted in
Ford's product portfolio.
"Our lineup's the best it's ever been in my
30 years with the company," she said.

MITSUBISHI
Focus turns to slashing
costs, finding efficiencies
continued from Page 4

san Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp.,
is trying to deliver shared savings between
the companies. As head of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, he engineered Nissan's purchase of a controlling stake in Mitsubishi last
year, building a global auto empire with sales
approaching 10 million units.
Thanks to the addition of Mitsubishi's 2016
global sales of 934,013 vehicles, the alliance's
global volume surged to 9.96 million vehicles in
2016, falling just a hair short of third-place GM.
Now the focus turns to combining programs,
slashing costs and promoting efficiencies.
In announcing Nissan's takeover of Mitsubishi, Ghosn outlined plans to reap savings
of 49 billion yen ($427.1 million) in the next
fiscal year through joint manufacturing,
product sharing, combined purchasing and
other combined operations that spread costs
over higher volumes.

North America impact
At the time, little was said about ways the
partnership could impact North America.
Mitsubishi confirmed product plans are
under review but declined to comment on
any delays.
"Now we are reviewing our future product
lineup in order to maximize the alliance synergy effect," spokesman Tetsuji Inoue said.
"We will announce this matter at an appropriate time."
At this month's Geneva auto show, Mit-

Dealers such as Tindol, however, are concerned about the automaker's car lineup.
Ford's car sales were the sore spot in 2016,
dropping 13 percent for the year, while
SUV/crossover sales rose 4.9 percent and
pickup sales jumped 6.1 percent.
One of the dealers' biggest concerns, Tindol
said, is how Craig will help them manage the
car market.
Craig noted that Ford will try to increase its
car market share. While some of those sales
will be driven by incentives - Fiesta subcompact sales rose 6 percent in February, thanks
to generous deals - the challenge will be to
avoid relying too heavily on them.
"Any tenth of share in any segment is a battleground," she said. "But it comes down to
the balance and being smart."

'Learned from dealers'
Craig joined Ford in 1986 and has held several marketing and sales positions. Before becoming Ford of Canada CEO, Craig was general manager of the U.S. Southeast market
area and was head of U.S. dealer relations for
Ford, Lincoln and Mercury.
"So much of my time has been in our field
locations across the U.S.," she said. "So much
of what I've learned in this industry I've
learned from dealers."
Craig has been married for more than 20
years and has a teenage daughter. She said
she enjoys family skiing trips, puts hot sauce
on almost everything she eats and is a huge
John Denver fan.
Craig has made a strong impression.
Before Craig moved to Canada, O.C. Welch,
president of O.C. Welch Ford-Lincoln in
Hardeeville, S.C., told Automotive News that
Craig was "the best thing that has happened
to Ford's Southeast market since 1958."
He called her a team-builder, peacemaker
and friend.
Craig said she hopes her time as head of
U.S. sales will be marked by accountability on
the factory and dealer side. She said she'll
continue to travel and meet with dealers to
earn their trust and respect.
"They inspire me every day I speak to
them," she said. "They're eternal optimists
about our future." c

subishi COO Trevor Mann told Reuters that
Mitsubishi and Nissan may also pool components and manufacturing of the next-generation Nissan Navara and Mitsubishi Triton pickups, both geared toward emerging markets.
Mitsubishi's U.S. dealers have yet to be told
of any delays related to the next-generation
Outlander or Outlander Sport. Mann visited
California earlier this year to meet with dealers and no such delay was discussed, Joe Bizzarro, chairman of Mitsubishi's national
dealer advisory board, told Automotive News.
A longer wait for the redesigned Outlander
duo could eat into Mitsubishi sales at a time
when demand for crossovers is soaring. The
Outlander - Mitsubishi's No. 2 seller in the
U.S. in 2016 - was last redesigned in 2012 and
freshened for 2016. The Outlander Sport - Mitsubishi's best-selling model in the U.S. - hasn't
had a full model change since its 2010 introduction. It received a light update for 2016.
Though dealers may have to wait longer for
the full-model changes, revamps that draw
from the best of the Mitsubishi and Nissan
toolboxes could deliver better performance
and lower costs. Dealers can also take solace
in the fact that other fresh product is on the
way.
The new Eclipse Cross, a coupe-styled
crossover that will slot between the Outlander
and Outlander Sport, debuted at the Geneva
show and is due in the U.S. in early 2018.
Dealers can also find relief in Mitsubishi
serving as one of the few value-oriented
brands in the U.S. market - Scion has been
folded into Toyota, Suzuki pulled out of the
market and Hyundai and Kia have cast their
eye upmarket. c
David Undercoffler contributed to this report.

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