| VIEW FROM THE TOP
THE INDUSTRY WE ARE ABOUT TO LIVE IN JOSÉ ROMÁN President and Managing Director of Nissan Mexicana 42
Q: What are the most valuable lessons that the Nissan family
process. This technology also enables advanced mobility for
has taught you?
the elderly. When the gap between vehicles and infrastructure
A: Nissan is a company that teaches you and gives you a true
disappears, I imagine a Mexico City center full of autonomous
sense of what a global company is. Our executive committee
vehicles and less traffic.
is composed of people from all nationalities because what matters most is that you are good at your job. Although
The market will change quickly and profoundly. We should be
the company retains its Japanese manufacturing model, its
ready for new customers and technological trends that will
business management is international.
shape the future challenges of the industry.
I do not consider myself a disruptive manager, but I do
Q: How is Nissan’s Intelligent Mobility strategy ramping up
work on disruptive projects. A leader’s role should be clear,
in the country?
transparent and focused on constant effort. We have to be
A: This has been part of our core business for over 12 years.
careful about creating waves in a large organization such as
We were the first to equip vehicles with parking cameras 10
Nissan with more than 16,000 employees. A leader should
years ago. Those details are part of what makes a Nissan
manage disruptive projects and business thinking with a long-
vehicle. At the time, these components seemed disruptive,
term view. We have more than 58 years of traditional history
but they quickly became the new normal. Today, we are
in Mexico. Now, we should think about the future.
launching a new Versa model that has all those features and more. Intelligent Mobility is not a slogan. We have truly made
Q: What will Nissan’s future look like?
technology the core of our vehicles.
A: At Nissan, we think about the vehicles we will launch five years before they reach the market. After spending over
Technology developments also will translate to advances
three years in Japan, I can tell you that what is coming will be
that the customer will find useful. A car full of technology
unbelievable. EVs are a fact now. In Mexico and Latin America,
with little customer application is not practical. There are
EVs will arrive hand-in-hand with technologies such as
customers who cannot conceive of a car without a camera
e-power. E-power is an electric powertrain with a combustion
or proximity sensors, for instance, because these make their
engine that supports and charges a battery, which is the
life easier. Nissan Intelligent Mobility has already arrived in
opposite of a hybrid vehicle that has a combustion engine
Mexico, although it will require several stages before being
supported by a battery. EVs provide outstanding performance
fully implemented. It is a platform we use to constantly offer
and this is what will attract customers. Technology adoption
our customers a better product.
is a matter of time. Similar to the cellphone experience, the electrification trend will ramp up within 10 years in
Q: The Nissan Switch program has already explored shared
Latin America. An obstacle for this technology, however, is
mobility in the US. What are your plans for the Mexican
infrastructure development, which should be the responsibility
market in this regard?
of cities and governments as well as the private sector. The
A: We will use Nissan Switch in Houston as a beta program.
EVs that will land in the region will be e-powered units that
The project is really interesting because it makes total sense
will not require a large number of charging stations.
in large cities like Mexico City. The beta program will help provide a clearer picture. What is certain is that shared
Autonomous driving will arrive as well. I have driven fully
mobility schemes are coming. It will be focused on certain
autonomous Nissan models in Japan. The technology is
cities and customer segments rather than being a mass-scale
ready, it is just a matter of making it available. Cities must
program. We do not want a Nissan Switch in Mexico just for
be connected to vehicles, which is why I see this coming in
the sake of it. We want it because it will be useful for our
the midterm, and Nissan will have some advantages in this
customers.
