Overall, Nissan/Infiniti did very well, with a 35.1% increase in overall sales compared to April of 2009. The G Sedan/Couple/Convertible and new M did very well for Infiniti. What I was disappointed with was the sales numbers for the Altima and Maxima. They both were up from the year previously, but they were down considerably from their upward sales trend in Feb and March 2010! Also, it was sad to see that Nissan dropped down to 7th place in total sales, with Hyundai finally beating Nissan for total sales.

April 2010 Mid-Size Sedan Sales April 2010 Sales by Manufacture

1) Honda Accord (31,766) 1) GM (183,614)
2) Toyota Camry (27,914) 2) Ford (167,283)
3) Ford Fusion (18,971) 3) Toyota (157,439)
4) Hyundai Sonata (18,536) 4) Honda (113,697)
5) Chevrolet Malibu (16,536) 5) Chrysler (95,703)
6) Nissan Altima (14,762) 6) Hyundai (74,059)

March 2010 Mid-Size Sedan Sales Mar 2010 Sales by Manufacture

1) Toyota Camry (36,251) 1) GM (188,546)
2) Honda Accord (29,120) 2) Toyota (186,863)
3) Nissan Altima (24,649) 3) Ford (183,783)
4) Ford Fusion (22,773) 4) Honda (108,262)
5) Hyundai Sonata (18,935) 5) Nissan (95,468)
6) Chevrolet Malibu (17,750) 6) Chrysler (92,623)

What I would like to know is, why did Nissan's overall sales, and the sales of the Altima and Maxima drop so much from just 1 month ago? I can't figure it out. They say, Nissan had the largest sales incentives of all the import brands but had an almost 10k unit drop in Altima sales. Does any know if there were Maxima or Altima production problems/shortage last month or did incentives change/go away for them from March to April?

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...100509987/1400

Maxima sales in Feb 2010 were 5,301, in Mar 2010 they were 6,622, and now for April they went down to 4,892. I would have expected the Maxima's sales to either increase from March or be around 6k but not have an almost 2k unit drop.

Any explanations??

 

Nissans year end sale pulled out all the stops and they were just moving units. Right now the dealer cant negotiate as good because they need to make money since the Manufacture is not giving them any money in return for volume. If you wait till June you should see an increase for the graduate sales. When you can lease a 30k car for ZERO no $0 at signing for $300-$400 you move units and lose commission.

 

That makes sense. Actually, except for Honda and Hyundai, overall sales and sales of popular models were down for April, now that I've had some time to look over more figures. Personally, there was a Maxima shortage at my two local Nissan dealers. They only had 6 on the lot all month long and they still have had no new Maxima's come in since the end of March!

 

I noticed that same Maxima shortage at my two dealers, and asked about it. I got some mumbo-jumbo about Maxima buyers being so particular they usually have to transfer the desired car from another dealer or special order, so why waste lot space? I'm not sure I buy that. Another salesperson said they needed more room for the smaller Nissans like the Versa and Cube that are hot right now. Both dealers seemed to have lots of Altimas. It may be that there are now so many millions of Altimas on the road that folks just want something a little different.

We all know why Hyundai is doing well. They specialize in smaller cars, and have very good cars, most at a VERY affordable price, AND have a TEN YEAR WARRANTY. Many folks who are not 'car knowledgable' (sadly, a growing percentage of the populace) tend to gravitate to the lowest price with the longest warranty, especially in these tough times.

We know why the Ford Fusion and Chevy Malibu are moving up. Both are getting rave reviews, and they are riding a recent surge in that old 'buy America' creed.

Camry sales soared because dealers have been practically giving them away this past month, because sales have been hurt badly by the publicity of the runaway problem.

We even have another factor: Nissan dealers are nationwide, but the concentration is more in the sun belt states. March is the spring-arrival car-buying time in the sun belt states, while April is the spring-arriving car-buying time in more northern states, where unions have always been stronger, and the 'buy America' mantra is more heeded.

I'm sure there are many other factors at work.

 

The VPP program ended March 31st.

 

Yeah light, that sounds like a bunch of BS from your dealerships and I'd expect my local ones to give the same BS as well. That doesn't make any sense because in January, February, and March, they were getting regular supplies of Maxima's in every 2-3 weeks (usually between 8-12 of them!) then all of a sudden last month that stopped. They still have the same 6 in the back lot that they had at the beginning of April and no new arrivals have come in as of yet. I noticed the same thing with my local dealers in regards to the Rogue and Murano. They only have 3 of each on their lot since the beginning of April and have seen no new models arrive since the middle of March!

I think there is some production shortage that is part of this occasions on certain models.

The Altima though, has had steady and consistent new arrivals throughout April so not quite sure why the Altima's numbers are down so much from March.

Hopefully within the next week or two they'll get some new shipments of Maxima's, Rogue's, and Murano's! I don't know how my local dealers are meeting any sales quotes by their lack of so many models on their lot!

 

OOPS!

I Just remembered that around a month ago, when flights were being cancelled because of the dust from the Icelandic volcano, Nissan made a press release something to the effect they had to shut down their assembly lines until certain critical parts obtained only from their Renault partner in Europe could once more begin arriving at their Smyrna TN and Canton MS assembly plants.

That may or may not be involved in the April sales numbers, but just goes to show there are lots of factors at work, and we are seldom aware of many of them.

 

very very true light!

 

the zero% financing deal ended at the end of March. That's what happened in April...

 

If that is true, then this probably overrides all other factors.