Nissan Tells Dealers to Cut Prices as Inventory Swells

Chase Bierenkoven has been writing about cars in his head since he was a child. Now, he does it for real, covering automotive news and producing reviews for outlets like Edmunds, Forbes Wheels and CarBuzz. Chase's career as an automotive journalist began in 2020, and he has already written scores of road tests. Some favorites of Chase's include the Dodge Challenger 392, Mazda Miata, Kia EV6 and Bentley Bentayga. Outside his work with cars, Chase is often found justifying his latest broken German sports car to anyone that will listen or enjoying the outdoor spaces of his native Colorado.

Nick Yekikian has worked in the automotive industry since 2019. He has written close to a thousand car-related articles and tested and reviewed more than 200 vehicles over the course of his career. Nick is the Senior News Editor at Edmunds and has also contributed to MotorTrend, Automobile Magazine and Super Street. When Nick isn't zipping around town in his latest used-car find, he's probably making digital art in Photoshop or playing disc golf with friends.

A dealer memo says Nissan is telling retailers to cut prices by 10%-15%
Some dealers aren't happy, insisting Nissan is passing losses on to them.
Nissan is forcing its dealers to compete with themselves by cutting invoice prices.

A memo obtained by Automotive News shows Nissan dealers hold “triple-digit days’ supply” in some cases, causing the automaker to ask dealers to cut prices to below invoice. Dealers are being told they can market almost all of Nissan’s 2024 lineup at 10% below invoice. There are a few notable exceptions. First, the Nissan GT-R, which is set to end production in 2025. Dealers won’t be letting these go for anywhere near MSRP, and a few have already asked absurd prices for the last examples of the iconic sports car.

Automotive News’ memo also indicates that Nissan dealers will swing the other way, cutting invoice prices on Armada SUVs by as much as 15%. Infiniti, Nissan’s luxury-oriented sister company, will update its Armada-based QX80 soon and an Armada replacement is on the way — likely the reason for the larger price cut at dealers.

The cost-cutting will be good news for consumers, and some of Nissan’s most popular models, like the Rogue and Leaf, will become even more affordable. While Nissan doesn’t publish its invoice prices, these figures can be thousands lower than MSRP. Nissan has a history of selling cars below MSRP, and the tactic has proven controversial now and then.

Per AN, some dealers aren’t happy. One told the outlet: “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.” Pricing vehicles below invoice price could potentially result in a financial loss for dealers already struggling with bloated inventory. Another said that allowing vehicles to be advertised and sold below invoice will save Nissan “hundreds of millions of dollars in rebates.” Others are happy to do it, with one saying, “We want more flexibility to make better deals and get more traffic into the stores.”