Nissan's May Sales Are Great for Customers, Dealers Not So Much

If you've had your eye on a new 2024 Nissan, hunting for the right deal, now is your time to pounce. Nissan wants to score a nationwide sales bump, so it's allowing dealers to advertise under-invoice pricing for almost its entire lineup.

According to Automotive News, Nissan sent a memo to dealers giving them the ability to sell most models up to 10% under invoice. Some will even dip lower—the Nissan Armada, for example, can be advertised as low as 15% under invoice. The idea is to boost the brand's sales figures, as its inventory is getting a bit high. Per Cox Automotive, Nissan's 98 days of supply is well above the 72-day average.

However, dealers aren't as happy as customers. Rather than using corporate incentives to give dealers the financial room to sell under invoice, Nissan is pushing the financial burden down to the dealership level.

"Nissan is saying, 'We can't afford to be in the market, so you need to be,' " one dealer, who requested anonymity, told Automotive News. "The responsibility has been moved from the factory to us." According to another dealer, this move will save Nissan hundreds of millions of dollars in rebates.

Of course, dealerships don't have to sell cars for under invoice—they simply can advertise the steep discounts. Once customers come in for the shockingly low advertised pricing, salespeople can hook them with trim level and option upgrades that bring prices back up. And that's going to be the most likely scenario for most sales, as continuously selling cars under cost is financially untenable.

That said, if you're cool without many added bells and whistles, you should have a great shot at walking away with almost any Nissan model you like at less than invoice this month. This might work out for Armada customers more than any other, as Nissan's three-row SUV is already well-equipped from the jump, so you don't need to add any options and inflate that already discounted price tag.

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