Nissan’s sales through the first five months are higher by 14.3% to 594,834. Honda’s sales, over the same period, are up .3% to 610,413. Toyota, the perennial leader in sales among Japanese manufacturers, posted an increase of 5.5% to 953,893 for the five months, while the overall U.S. market advanced 5%.
Nissan’s advantage is the impressive growth of two of its models, each of which is among the top 20 selling cars in the U.S. Sales of the Altima rose by 6.7% to 150,342, better than Honda’s popular Accord, which lost 5.1% of its sales, down to 147,169. Nissan’s Sentra’s sales rose 36.6% to 75,801. The Sentra surged 75.4% to 21,932 in May, growing much faster than the auto sales market as a whole.
Nissan’s success has been building for years as it produced a wide array of sedans, coupes, SUVs, crossovers and pickups. It has kept its prices at the low end of the market. Its Infiniti brand targets the luxury market, although those sales have been poor. Nissan’s car prices run from $11,990 for the Versa Sedan to $31,290 for the Maxima.
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Nissan’s primary weakness is the perception of the quality of its cars and light trucks. In the 2014 J.D. Power Vehicle Reliability Study, based on problems per 100 vehicles, the Nissan fell below average. Toyota and Honda were at the high end of the scale. Infiniti was behind Acura, Lexus, Lincoln, Mercedes and Cadillac. Nissan did not do any better in the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Once again, its ratings were below average. Honda and Toyota ranked much higher.
Nissan’s place among the leading companies that sell cars in the United States seems assured. It has been years in the making and solidified by the success of both its leading models and the strength of its broad product line. It order to remain, it must improve its reputation for quality.
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