Nissan Dealer Profits Have Fallen Off a Cliff

Around 70% of profits disappeared from Nissan dealerships in 2024 versus last year, according to a new report.

By: Brian Silvestro

Aug 13, 2024 at 1:12pm ET

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Profits have fallen significantly at Nissan dealerships in the US in 2024.
The loss in revenue can be partially attributed to a lack of hybrid offerings, with a hybridized Rogue still several years away.
Nissan also has too many dealerships, over-saturating the market.

Nissan dealers in the United States aren't having a good year. Profits are down 70% versus the same period 2023, according to a report published by Automotive News.

A retailer with knowledge on Nissan's struggles told Automotive News around 38 percent of Nissan's 1,071 dealers in America are losing money. Profitability is down to its lowest levels in 15 years. According to the report, that comes down to two main reasons: A lack of hybrid offerings and an over-saturation of dealerships.

Somehow, Nissan is the only big automaker in the US without a mild-hybrid or plug-in vehicle in its lineup. While the company is preparing to fill that gap with a plug-in hybrid based on the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and a hybridized Rouge in 2027, its competitors are raking in sales of hybrid cars. Automotive News points out that nearly 30 percent of all Toyotas sold last year had some sort of hybrid assistance, and hybrids accounted for roughly half of Accord and CR-V sales in 2023.

There's also too many Nissan dealers in America right now relative to the company's market share. Currently, Nissans make up 5.8% of cars sold in America, down from 7.7% five years ago. Dealers interviewed by Automotive News say the current network of dealers can't sustain itself based on this market share, with some saying the amount of dealerships should be reduced by up to 40 percent.

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For some context, Nissan currently has more dealers than Honda, Hyundai, or Kia. Closing underperforming dealerships would, in theory, give the chance for larger stores to survive and smaller, successful dealers to expand.

Whether the company has the capital to buy out those dealers is unclear, though. Either way, Nissan needs to make changes if it wants to turn these numbers around.