Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn told his companies engineers recently that they need to start thinking more seriously about the global aging phenomenon and how it impacts their products. Quoted at the web site Monday Morning:

“There is no doubt that 10 years down the road, the average age of a human being living on the planet is going to be higher”, said Ghosn, who heads both Japan’s Nissan Motor Co and its French partner Renault. “The average consumer on earth is going to be much older. We know also that usually the purchasing power is with older people. [That means] more money in the hands of the seniors and more seniors on earth”, he said. Carmakers like Nissan must therefore develop more speciality cars with devices such as cameras that make parking easier and reduce the risk of a stiff neck, he told a forum of engineers at Nissan’s Tokyo headquarters.

Via The Mature Market.

Wall Street Journal auto writer Joseph B. White comments on the problems automakers face leveraging the potent spending power of Boomers. Auto marketers have figured out that Boomers don’t want to be addressed as “mature” consumers. Instead, their tastes in cars seems to run closer to those of millennials in their 20s and 30s:

Sheryl Connelly, manager of global consumer trends and futuring at Ford Motor Co., says the similarities between boomers and millennials are stronger than those between boomers and their parents. People in their 50s and people in their 20s and 30s have in common that they grew up in times of economic prosperity and “have a very strong sense of entitlement.”

According to White, the sweet spot will be cars that appeal to Boomers and Millennials that are priced around $30,000, offer luxury features, good horsepower, connectivity and style. Examples of models that fit this profile include the Honda Accord now on the drawing board, an overhauled Chevy Malibu scheduled to debut later this year and Ford’s revamped Focus.

Could the automotive industry be waking to the huge 50+ market opportunity? Anyone who has tried to sell automakers on targeting older consumers can tell you the industry is among the most youth-obsessed categories around–and that they’ve been missing some big opportunities by failing to reach out to older consumers. Boomers account for more than half of all car sales, and dominate luxury purchases, as well. Now, Newsweek writes that carmakers are catering to growing demand for more environmentally responsible vehicles, and that Boomers are leading the charge:

Fifty-four percent of all vehicles purchased last year were by people over 50,” says Chrysler trend watcher Steve Bartoli. “We call it the silver tsunami.”

When Boomers were kids, carmakers scrambled to meet Boomer demand for muscle and sports cars; later, it was minivans and SUVs. Today, it’s hybrids and fuel-efficient crossover vehicles. But carmakers haven’t really figured out how to target Boomers. Newsweek notes that they’re scrambling to identify the next big trend, so far without many success stories. Ford took a shot at a car marketed specifically to Boomers with its Ford 500. The idea was a sedan emphasizing comfort and safety (built on a Volvo platform), and it sold moderately well in 2005, it’s first full year of sales. But momentum tanked in 2006, and the model was later re-branded as a resurrected Taurus. Toyota’s more subtle Boomer strategies include its emphasis on environmentally friendly models, and humorous ads playing to empty-nester freedom and adventure themes. One ad for the Highlander SUV depicts a middle-age couple dropping off a child at college. Copy reads: “5:15 p.m. Dropping the kid off at college,” the text declares. “5:17 p.m. What kid?”