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When the news broke that Vinay Shahani, Nissan’s head of sales and marketing, abruptly quit Nissan, I had to admit that I was a bit shocked. The sudden departure, just as the company heads into a slew of new products hitting the market, didn’t make much sense. Shahani declined to say where he was going, other than that it was outside the automotive industry.
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who was shocked. Several of my sources were also a bit surprised by the sudden announcement of Shahani’s departure.
Shahani served at Nissan for less than two years, but has a curriculum vitae that Nissan definitely needed. When I first had the opportunity to talk to him as a journalist, he was open to wanting to know what I thought about Nissan, and what I thought both its strengths and weaknesses are.
Some executives in this business absolutely do not want to hear what their company is doing wrong. So I found the interaction quite informative and refreshing.
One of the key things we discussed was the value that Nissan’s vehicles bring to the marketplace. He understood who Nissan’s customers were and where the company excelled.
While he didn’t do it all by himself, it’s fairly obvious that the excitement around the new Leaf — especially its competitive pricing — had his fingerprints all over it.
There are a ton of reasons why Shahani might have left, including, certainly, family considerations, but we’re unlikely to know exactly why. Is it something innocuous, or is it a sign of a bigger issue? I wouldn’t be particularly surprised if I saw him back at Toyota sooner than later, or at another automaker before it’s all said and done.
💡Do you have information about the goings on at Nissan? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me on Signal at chadkirchner.1701, or with another secure communication method.
Longtime Nissan executive Michael Soutter is stepping into Shahani’s role and has a big job ahead of him. Dealerships will be receiving the new Leaf to sell any day now, and while that’s a smaller volume car in the Nissan lineup, it’s a launch that the company absolutely needs to get right.
Additionally, a new Sentra should be on the way, plus the company’s first collaboration with Roush, and an upcoming recession that’s going to be a challenge for sales and marketing for the entire industry. He’s going to have to hit the ground running.