V8SC: Crennan central to Nissan’s aims

Veteran says V8 Supercar racing can sell more cars
The chairman of Nissan’s new V8 Supercar team, John Crennan, is counting on his two decades heading Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) to help the Japanese company sell more of its high-end cars.

“Believe me, properly handled, motorsport creates better sales,” Crennan told motoring.com.au at today’s confirmation that Holden team Kelly Racing will become Nissan Motorsport Australia with the Car of the Future’s introduction next year.

“I have first-hand experience of converting a motorsport program [Holden Racing Team] into sales [of HSVs]. In my 20 years running HSV we sold 50,000 cars – and 25,000 were a consequence of motor racing,” Crennan.

While not saying it specifically, it is not hard to see that – even at 66 – Crennan has visions of the Kelly operation becoming an HSV-style arm of Nissan’s NISMO performance business.

Crennan says that central to sales success out of the Kelly-Nissan “marriage” will be connecting with “the real enthusiast for cars – the person who has a passion for cars”.

Nissan Australia chief Dan Thompson has issued a “Just win, baby” edict to those who will spearhead the company’s entry to V8 Supercar racing: the company’s marketing general manager, Ian Moreillon, Crennan and Todd and Rick Kelly.

There was no car to unveil at today’s Melbourne launch, there was not even a 'donor' model named and nor are there details of the V8 engine to be used. It all has to happen in 12 months.

And V8 Supercars Australian chairman Tony Cochrane seemed confident at today’s function that in 2013 there will be at least one more make taking on Holden and Ford under the Car of the Future regulations.

The Kellys will build six Nissans this year while still fielding four Holden Commodores – for themselves, Greg Murphy and Karl Reindler.

Crennan described Nissan marketing man Moreillon as “Cyclone Ian”, who had blown back into Australia three months ago from a stint in Japan to press the buttons on the V8 Supercar program by the end of January.

Crennan had been talking to Nissan PR chief, Jeff Fisher, since October 2010 but it was Moreillon who crystallised the company’s focus on the project.

The Nissan, Kelly and V8 Supercar bosses at today’s announcement went to great lengths to emphasise that the modern environment is much different to that from which Nissan exited Australian motor racing 20 years ago with its Godzilla GT-R banned – ironically to usher in the modern era of two-make V8 racing.

Now Nissan is coming back with a V8 engine. And Crennan is oozing enthusiasm for the task ahead.

He describes himself as “retired, but 24/7 on my favourite hobby [motor racing operations and leveraging them into car sales]”.

"I’d rather do that than play golf and walk the dog,” he said.

However optimistic Crennan is, there is a huge challenge ahead.

During this supposed boom era of V8 Supercar racing, annual sales of Holden Commodores have slipped – on VFACTS figures - from almost 90,000 in 2002 to little more than 40,000 last year. For Ford, the Falcon tale has been even worse – from more than 70,000 in 2003 to less than 20,000 last year.

Crennan will be drawing on all his experience in a cut-throat game and says that selling cars – “at the high-end, not the low” - on the back of a motorsport program will come down to “who [which manufacturer and its race teams] can market ‘cool’ better than anybody”.