June 29, 1998

Nissan Dealer Pokes Along In Online Sales

Tokyo Nissan Auto Sales Co.'s ambitious effort to sell new cars on the Internet has been a flop, drawing just seven buyers in one year. But Nissan Motor Co.'s largest dealer isn't ready to scrap the idea yet, believing there must be some way to generate significant business through the World Wide Web.

Car de Net opened in February 1997 with a single model on offer. The catch was that the car for outdoor use, named Multi Canopy, could only be purchased online. The car was based on Nissan's Datsun pickup truck. Prospective buyers were encouraged to check specifications at Car de Net, negotiate a price and place an order.

The sales-support division realizes its biggest mistake was not establishing a valid system to field enquiries from potential customers. Questions forwarded to the company by electronic mail were sent from the headquarters to sales representatives at relevant branches. But since this was just additional work for them, answers were often slow in coming.

Another mistake was to limit the range of vehicles offered. This was necessary mainly because of agreements among Nissan Motor and its affiliated dealers limiting them to specific areas. Since Car de Net can be accessed by anyone, it arguably competes with dealers nationwide and thus was forced to offer a model unavailable at conventional dealerships.

But the company has worked around this and now offers a full line of passenger cars at the site.

The crew responsible for the site found that people were attracted by the anonymity of their visits and the chance to look at cars without being dogged by salespeople.

Despite the modest results, about 200 quotes were provided and 400 catalogs sent out after being requested online. And the 2,000 e-mail messages received have been organized into a list of potential customers.

In the U.S., purchases via the Internet account for 5% of all new-car sales. Auto-By-Tel Corp. used the medium to become the country's largest dealer, selling 120,000 cars online in 1996.