- Nissan is greenlighting dealers to advertise cars 10-15 percent below invoice.
- Dealers want to move units but they’re not happy about the way Nissan is going about it.
- Some are finding creative ways to increase their bottom dollar regardless of selling price.
Several signs point to the automotive market, or at least certain sections of it such as EVs, is cooling off a little bit, and Nissan is feeling the brunt of it. According to Cox Automotive, vehicles on Nissan dealer lots are sitting there for around 98 days before buyers snap them up. This has led the automaker to a new plan, allowing dealers to advertise prices that are 10-15 percent below not just MSRP but also invoice.
According to a report from Autonews, Nissan dealers can advertise almost every car up to 10 percent below invoice and the Armada as much as 15 percent below. In essence, Nissan is enabling dealers to take a loss at their own discretion if they do sell cars at such a price. That’s not all bad for the dealer in some cases as it can enable them to be more flexible and reduce overhead costs. One dealer expressed that view in a recent interview.
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“We want more flexibility to make better deals and get more traffic into the stores,” said a retailer in a major metropolitan market, who paid about $80,000 in floor plan interest last month on more than 200 vehicles sitting on his lot. “If I can get my floor plan expense down by moving some of these cars, I’ll do it,” he told Automotive News.
At the same time, other dealers are blaming Nissan for not taking on the added cost of increasing sales by itself. “Nissan is saying, ‘We can’t afford to be in the market, so you need to be… The responsibility has been moved from the factory to us,” said one dealer who wished to remain anonymous. That sentiment appears widespread as multiple sources say that they’re racing to the bottom so to speak.
On its behalf, the automaker told the publications that it adjusts sales programs based on market conditions, “providing more flexibility when warranted.”
In an effort to recover profits wherever possible, dealers say that they’re using various tactics. In-house financing is a crucial piece of that since dealers make extra cash on the back end. Leveraging trade-ins is another way to make back some cash. In addition, dealers can advertise the below-invoice price and then attempt to upsell the customer into a better-equipped trim level.
Of course, none of this considers the other somewhat shady tactics that we’ve seen dealers engage in time and time again. Junk fees, pointless extra packages, and extended warranties could all be part of the plan for some of these businesses too. For now, shrewd buyers interested in a less-popular Nissan model might be able to nab a deal.
