September orders on hold until the 27th

Nissan related that they will not be releasing any orders this week . This was their Comment:
"RAQ release will be contingent on RAQ acceptance % and build availability"
As long as there is over 25% of released orders that have not requested a quote, they are not releasing any more. As of today, IT is over 25%.

CampbellNelson said:

Nissan related that they will not be releasing any orders this week . This was their Comment:
"RAQ release will be contingent on RAQ acceptance % and build availability"
As long as there is over 25% of released orders that have not requested a quote, they are not releasing any more. As of today, IT is over 25%.

Click to expand...

That sounds backwards. If they are getting less quotes than cars available, then they should release/open more dashboards and not less. Did I misread your message or am I missing something?

palmermd said:

CampbellNelson said:

Nissan related that they will not be releasing any orders this week . This was their Comment:
"RAQ release will be contingent on RAQ acceptance % and build availability"
As long as there is over 25% of released orders that have not requested a quote, they are not releasing any more. As of today, IT is over 25%.

Click to expand...

That sounds backwards. If they are getting less quotes than cars available, then they should release/open more dashboards and not less. Did I misread your message or am I missing something?

Click to expand...

over 200 people are capable of ordering the leaf (RAQ) and have not done so. They either do not know or they are just taking their sweet time. Either way, Nissan is saying this is the reason behind the delay.

Bottom line is that not enough people have responded yet to their RAQ emails, nor have enough outstanding quotes been accepted. Personally, I think that if a deal isn't reached in a pre-determined amount of time...BAM....loss of place in line.

I think their fear would be that too many of the unfulfilled RAQs would come to the table after more RAQs were released, thereby creating too many customers for too few cars and then extended delivery times.

Too bad the RAQ email didn't expire in 1-2 weeks or something to weed out the folks that are serious vs. those that aren't or have changed their minds...They don't really have a way collecting the feedback from people that aren't going to participate...

Randy said:

Too bad the RAQ email didn't expire in 1-2 weeks or something to weed out the folks that are serious vs. those that aren't or have changed their minds...They don't really have a way collecting the feedback from people that aren't going to participate...

Click to expand...

Agree wholeheartedly. The least that should be happening is those people fence sitting should get a bit of a kick up the arse and the people having problems should be getting assistance so they can complete.

So after about 30 days delay they start losing their place in line and let the rest of us get moving?
Nissan will eventually need to move on and not wait for those sitting on the fence.

CampbellNelson said:

Nissan related that they will not be releasing any orders this week . This was their Comment:
"RAQ release will be contingent on RAQ acceptance % and build availability"
As long as there is over 25% of released orders that have not requested a quote, they are not releasing any more. As of today, IT is over 25%.

Click to expand...

During my entire RAQ/quote/acceptance process, I still have not received a single email from Nissan. I would wager there is something wrong with their email process. Those not aware to check their account (or tired of waiting) may have no idea it's available.

One can only RAQ or Cancel.
One cannot put their account "On Hold", dropping out
of the Reservation Place-Holder and "Sliding" until later.

Randy said:

I think their fear would be that too many of the unfulfilled RAQs would come to the table after more RAQs were released, thereby creating too many customers for too few cars and then extended delivery times.

Too bad the RAQ email didn't expire in 1-2 weeks or something to weed out the folks that are serious vs. those that aren't or have changed their minds...They don't really have a way collecting the feedback from people that aren't going to participate...

Click to expand...

Interesting. Wonder if this has something to do with Nissan's last survey regarding orders, non-orders, wait times, etc., .... Timing of the survey and end of order emails going out seems not coincidental.

This does seem pretty odd thinking to me too. What is Nissan going to do when over 25% of the people who RAQ don't end up buying the car? In fact, I would bet it's going to be a fairly high % if things continue to play out the way they are. No warranty information, no delivery information, no real world performance numbers, and other manufacturers offering some big discounts on vehicles right now.....


p.s. Ray - thanks for letting us know what's going on.

Looks like dealers should call and actually make that sale. I'm sure some of the dealers are already doing that ...

CampbellNelson said:

over 200 people are capable of ordering the leaf (RAQ) and have not done so. They either do not know or they are just taking their sweet time. Either way, Nissan is saying this is the reason behind the delay.

Click to expand...

I realize you can only report what you have been told, but I'm just thinking that the answer does not make sense.

Nissan knows the ramp up rate for production. I assumed (maybe this is where the problem lies) that they have setup the RAQ email schedule to match the ramp up rate (hence few August, and then increasing in Sept and then Oct.) If this is how they designed it then if there are people who do not order then it allows them to speed up the release of RAQ emails. This seems like the logical way to send out these emails.

If they keep waiting for those 200 folks, they may never send out another RAQ. If this is the way they designed the emails, there is a logical flaw. I don't believe Nissan would make such an error. I believe there is another reason for the delays, and I just wish we could get an honest answer. My suspicion is it is some sort of problem with interfacing with AV and Ecotality.

palmermd said:

Nissan knows the ramp up rate for production. I assumed (maybe this is where the problem lies) that they have setup the RAQ email schedule to match the ramp up rate (hence few August, and then increasing in Sept and then Oct.) If this is how they designed it then if there are people who do not order then it allows them to speed up the release of RAQ emails. This seems like the logical way to send out these emails.

Click to expand...

Let us say they can make 500 cars for December. If they have already got 500 orders, why should they release anymore now ? It makes sense to convert more of those 25% who haven't answered into orders.

Not that this has to be the only reason. Problems with Ecotality falling behind may have also played a role. But Nissan HQ people don't need to tell that to their field reps to convey to dealerships. What Nissan wants dealers to do is to call the 25% people and convert some of them into orders.

Nissan needs to set a FIRM deadline for RAQ expiration.

I would suggest daily calls (with messages left if necessary) and daily emails be made to the reservationist starting 3 days after non-response to initial RAQ email.

RAQ expiration 10 days after third unsuccessful attempt to contact by email or call.

evnow said:

Let us say they can make 500 cars for December. If they have already got 500 orders, why should they release anymore now ? It makes sense to convert more of those 25% who haven't answered into orders.

Not that this has to be the only reason. Problems with Ecotality falling behind may have also played a role. But Nissan HQ people don't need to tell that to their field reps to convey to dealerships. What Nissan wants dealers to do is to call the 25% people and convert some of them into orders.

Click to expand...

Agreed, but why would they be sending out more RFQ's then they can make cars? Sounds like a recipe for upsetting customers who were given a Sept order and then they get delayed to Oct. I think this order process is fantastic. It is great for the customers and good for the dealers who are getting some good press, but this vagueness in the date we can order is really making some people upset. Nissan really needs to come out and spell out how this is working and how it will play out from here on and they can still come out looking great.

I also agree that they don't need to be spilling the details about problems with partners and suppliers, but they can release a truthful statement without making anybody look bad, and it would feel better than what feels like deception.

palmermd said:

Agreed, but why would they be sending out more RFQ's then they can make cars? Sounds like a recipe for upsetting customers who were given a Sept order and then they get delayed to Oct.

Click to expand...

They will send the Sept order emails by end of the month. Noone will be delayed to October ...

palmermd said:

CampbellNelson said:

Nissan related that they will not be releasing any orders this week . This was their Comment:
"RAQ release will be contingent on RAQ acceptance % and build availability"
As long as there is over 25% of released orders that have not requested a quote, they are not releasing any more. As of today, IT is over 25%.

Click to expand...

That sounds backwards. If they are getting less quotes than cars available, then they should release/open more dashboards and not less. Did I misread your message or am I missing something?

Click to expand...

Yeah, I agree! They have it ass backwards. Those people have had enough time to decide, let the rest of us order for crying out loud! Whatever happened to "you snooze, you lose"?

KeiJidosha said:

CampbellNelson said:

Nissan related that they will not be releasing any orders this week . This was their Comment:
"RAQ release will be contingent on RAQ acceptance % and build availability"
As long as there is over 25% of released orders that have not requested a quote, they are not releasing any more. As of today, IT is over 25%.

Click to expand...

During my entire RAQ/quote/acceptance process, I still have not received a single email from Nissan. I would wager there is something wrong with their email process. Those not aware to check their account (or tired of waiting) may have no idea it's available.

Click to expand...

Oh, there's definitely something wrong with their email process alright, no doubt about that, especially when TX gets to order before all the five rollout states. And I'm not buying that the reason is just the non-orders because I still believe it has something to with ECOtality running behind.

leaffan said:

Those people have had enough time to decide, let the rest of us order for crying out loud! Whatever happened to "you snooze, you lose"?

Click to expand...

I can understand why are you are saying this - but obviously Nissan doesn't want to lose those people. They want to convert those reservations into orders ...