Nissan Becomes First Automaker to Sell a Car on Twitter

Nissan became the first car manufacturer in Europe to sell a car on Twitter. One of the company’s dealers in Galicia, Spain, Antamotor achieved this feat. The complete transaction from the first contact with the client, Raul Escalano to the actual purchase was finalized within a short span of six days through Twitter. Through his Twitter handle, @escolano, Escolano contacted several car manufacturers through the hashtag #compraruncocheportwitter, which can be roughly translated as ‘buy a car on Twitter’. Thus, he challenged all automotive companies brands to use only Twitter to try and sell him a vehicle.

Nissan exhibited a high degree of initiative and quickly responded to the challenge by using Periscope, a video streaming platform to film the X-Trail and getting its leading dealer in Galicia, Antamotor in A Coruña, to contact Escolano through Twitter. The dealership went on to provide him with a live video stream of a personalized walk-through that highlighted the distinctive features of the X-Trail.

Escolano than went on to ask all his followers to rate all the automotive brands that had responded to his chanllenge and rate their models. His survey received 2.6 million impressions and the X-Trail emerged as the clear winner by a significant margin, with 43% of the vote. In keeping with the spirit of the purchase, the keys to his new X-Trail were delivered to Escalano’s home by courier, to make the transaction a completely online process. He collected the SUV from Nissan’s headquarters in Spain.

In an age when customers are increasingly relying on social media buzz and the internet to make the purchase decision, they generally make only one visit to the dealership as compared to about five visits just ten years ago. In line with this trend, Nissan has used several innovative technologies like “e-vision” a video diagnostic tool that busy customers can use to learn more about their vehicle service. Last October, Nissan also launched a new customer service initiative in Europe. The five point Service Customer Promise covers lifetime assistance from Nissan, 24/7 availability from the customer service desk, free transparent vehicle health-check, service price match, and the benefit of a courtesy car in the event that their vehicle is brought in for any service. With this initiative, Nissan becomes the first auto manufacturer in Europe that is focusing on providing customers across the region with better transparency with regard to pricing, aftersales support and servicing.