As in July, only Nissan of the Big Six automakers, showed a profit. As compared to August of last year, sales for the auto industry are down roughly 15 percent.
One of the surprises here is that, unlike the rest of the industry, several of Nissan's trucks and SUVs had a really good month. Their formerly slow-selling Frontier midsize pickup broke out with 56-percent leap in August, totaling 9,140 sales. The Xterra SUV showed an incredible 77-percent increase with 8,208 units sold. One thing I'm happy to see is that Subaru continues to surprise with a 14 percent gain over last August. The new Forester had a 73 percent increase over last August!
Here's AutoObserver's take: Auto Sales Still Dismal in August - But At Least It Wasn't July
orangutan says:
07:30 AM, 09/ 4/08
Part of the reason for Nissan's sales, especially in trucks and suvs, is the hefty incentives they've been placing on their vehicles, as Michelle Krebs discussed in her August 29th article on July sales.
ateixeira says:
07:36 AM, 09/ 4/08
Yeah, you can get a Titan for 50% off MSRP. That's just crazy.
I think the reason the Frontier and Forester are skyrocketing is that people are downsizing to more reasonably sized and capable choices.
brn says:
08:22 AM, 09/ 4/08
I like the Altima. Otherwise, I just don't get Nissan.
roar02ram says:
12:04 PM, 09/ 4/08
Didn't the refreshed '09 Frontier and Xterra hit showrooms about a month ago, too?
roar02ram says:
12:05 PM, 09/ 4/08
Didn't the refreshed '09 Frontier and Xterra hit showrooms about a month ago, too?
subytrojan says:
12:25 PM, 09/ 4/08
Subaru of America was up 14.2% in August 2008 compared to August 2007. It was their best August ever. :o)
estreka says:
11:02 PM, 09/ 4/08
Nissan has no reason to discount so heavily. They should discount enough to match '07 sales, not exceed them.