No excuses needed here. Nissan's sales are back from the dead. (Did someone say truck incentives?) Even with three fewer selling days for July 2008, Nissan division sales were up 9.9 percent (unadjusted) over last year. Versa and Sentra's double-digit percent sales increases led the pack, Altima sales were basically unchanged at an impressive 24,429, and the brand spanking new Maxima was up a few percentage points from last year. Truck/CUV sales were up, thanks to sales of the new Rogue as well big gains by the Frontier, Pathfinder, and Quest (all three vehicles were roadkill last month). On the other hand, Infiniti sales were down 2.9 percent; all cars save the G Coupe had declining sales. Rising sales of the new(ish) EX and FX CUV's were not enough to offset the drop in cars sales.
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Wow, seriously back from the dead. Maybe their sales rose due to limited availability over at Toyota and Honda? Or maybe July 2007 was a horrible month for them.
With popular Toyota’s and Hondas getting to be in short supply we should expect to see Nissan, Mazda, Hyundai, Kia and maybe even, gasp, Mitsubishi getting some of the rush-to-cars upside. In the 1980s when we went through this last time just about any moderate sized Japanese vehicle sold very well.
I’m thinking that Honda dealers weren’t willing to bargain after last month and people decided to jump on the sentra/ versa due to better deals.
When Toyota and Honda are down, we use the excuse of limited availability. When others are down, it is their own fault.
We can either make the excuse that all automakers lack inventory of models customers want, which of course is simply a truism, or we excuse none of them. It still all comes down to a business decision.
My own opinion: Provisioning of product that will sell is a simple concept, and lack thereof excuses no one in the business world.
Were they just having a weak July last year?
My local Nissan dealer has looked remarkably desperate during the last three weeks. They’ve got cars splayed out on the front sidewalk area with giant neon-yellow MPG numbers on the doors. Up until now, they’ve been pretty sedate.
I think July 2007 must have been weak for them.
What surprises me is that anyone picked the Sentra over the Altima, which is more fun to drive, looks better, has more room, is faster, and gets the same fuel economy.
Go Nissan! They are blowing out the Quest corporate was giving 4500 to dealers to get rid of them. Some consumers got 40% off MSRP. Same for Frontier, Pathfinder, and Armada.
When the incentives and sales go away so do the sales of the SUV, Trucks, and minivans.
Versa and Sentra prices are lower than competing Hondas and Toyotas.
I’m actually not surprised at this, at least as far as the Versa and Sentra are concerned; I bought a Versa a few months ago (ruled out the Sentra because I wanted a sunroof and stick without the 2.5L) and did so because it was safe and comfortable and economical and roomy for the price…but every day I drive it, I like it a little bit more. It’s just a very nice car for the money, and when you put it up against an Aveo or (surprisingly) a Civic, it’s quirky enough to be charming. That, and it’s noticeably safer than the Fit according to EuroNCAP, and you can get it in a 4-door hatch which you can’t with the Yaris.
ronin,
If what you say is true, then someone would have said, “Tundra sales are down due to availability.”
Which is and would be nonsense.
Inventories tell the tale. Some vehicles ARE suffering from limited availability. Others are not.
The Sentra, Versa and Altima are definitely a great core lineup to offer in these times vs. the equivalent Big 2.5 offerings: Chevy: Cobalt, ?, Malibu. Ford: Focus, ?, Fusion. Chrysler: ?, Caliber, Avenger.
@Shaker: Chevy offers the Aveo, but I wouldn’t even count it as it’s so far from competitive.