Nissan Motor Co., the Japanese automaker led by famed CEO Carlos Ghosn, may not be immune to the sales struggles facing Detroit automakers.
Nissan is launching an aggressive incentive program today that allows customers to buy a car now and not make a payment until 2007. The offer is good on all 2006 and 2007 Nissan models, according to information sent to dealers and obtained by The Detroit News.
But there's one catch: the “No Payments until 2007” deal is not available in Michigan, Maine and Pennsylvania. Nissan officials could not say late Thursday why the states were excluded.
The buy now, pay later offer comes as the Japanese automaker is struggling to attract buyers. Demand for Nissan cars and trucks is off 8 percent in the Unites States this year and the automaker hasn't posted a monthly sales gain since February.
That performance stands in stark contrast to the rest of Japan's Big Three — Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. Even as industry-wide demand is off 5 percent through July, Toyota's U.S. sales are up 10.1 percent and Honda's are up 6.9 percent.
“The traditional rebates aren't working,” said Alex Rosten, a pricing and marketing analyst for Edmunds.com, a research Web site for car buyers. “They're trying to get more creative to drive more showroom traffic.”
The offer allows customers to make their first payment 130 days after purchase. For example, the incentive lets buyers begin paying off their loans on Jan. 2 if they purchase a vehicle today.
If they buy on Oct. 2, when the offer ends, payments are due beginning Feb. 9.
Japanese automakers typically don't need to rely on big incentives, but Nissan's new offer underscores the company's challenge to grow sales.
Unlike its counterparts, Nissan has increased its incentive offerings this year, averaging $2,618 per vehicle in July compared with Toyota's $1,009 and Honda's $896, said Edmunds.com.
Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Group and General Motors Corp. averaged $3,961 in incentives per vehicle.
While Toyota and Honda, have been launching new vehicles into the market at a steady pace, Nissan has been undergoing a drought that caused the buzz in its showrooms to dissipate, Rosten said.
In July, Nissan's sales fell 19 percent to 86,408 vehicles.
And while Honda and Toyota released the small Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris in April, the Nissan compact Nissan Versa made its debut in June — missing out on buyers who were on a springtime prowl for more fuel-efficient cars.
But Joe Kern, general sales manager at Dick Scott Nissan in Canton Township, said the Versa is already luring buyers to the dealership.
“Probably 50 percent of our customers walk into to see the Versa,” he said. The Nissan Maxima, the automaker's flagship sedan, is also attracting customers.
Kern said he hasn't noticed an uptick in incentive offerings by Nissan. “In fact, all the incentives stayed the same this month as they did last month except for the 2007 Quest minivan,” he said. “The rebate was raised from $500 to $1,000.”
But that doesn't mean Kern wouldn't mind offering Nissan's latest discount program that excludes Michigan dealers. “Who in the world wouldn't want to see that?” he said.
