Nissan North America's U.S. sales fell 11 percent to 109,962 vehicles in October, as slumping car sales overwhelmed a jump in Infniniti results.
Sales of sedans and other car models dropped by more than 20 percent for each of the Japanese automaker's lines. Deliveries fell for every Nissan brand car except the slow-selling electric Leaf.
Some of Nissan's decline is attributable to the automaker's strategy to reduce overall fleet sales, while working to boost the commercial fleet business, Billy Hayes, division vice president for Nissan regional operations in North America, said in an interview.
The Infiniti luxury brand's sales grew 15 percent to 11,880 vehicles, with sales of the QX80 SUV and QX50 crossover both doubling.
Brands: Nissan down 13%, Infiniti up 15%
Notable nameplates: Nissan Titan sales were flat, Maxima down 63%, Altima down 25%, Pathfinder down 23%, Infiniti QX50 up 142%, Infiniti Q50 down 26%
Incentives: $4,074 per vehicle, up 0.9% from a year earlier, ALG says
Average transaction price: $27,331 up 0.6% from a year earlier, according to ALG
Quote: "We're out of the gate right now," Hayes told Automotive News of the all-new 2019 Altima sedan, which went on sale in mid-October. "Dealers are loving it. Customers are loving it. About 23 percent [of October Altima sales] were model year '19s."
Did you know? Sales of the Nissan NV200 compact cargo van rose 3.6 percent to 1,439 units — an October sales record.