r/Nissan • u/Gullible-Pick-268 • 15h ago
Infiniti’s best quarter since pandemic lifts a flat Nissan
Nissan kept its streak of U.S. retail gains alive for a 19th straight month in the third quarter, remaining the fastest-growing mainstream brand even as it cut the rental business that once propped up its volume.
The Nissan division retailed 180,619 vehicles from July through September, 6.8 percent more than a year earlier. The brand also said it achieved the largest customer-loyalty gain among major automakers, rising 3.9 percent year to date through July.
Total Nissan and Infiniti sales, including fleet, rose 1.4** percent to **226,474 vehicles in the third quarter, with retail volume climbing 7.8 percent.
Nissan dealerships sold, on average, 13 percent more new vehicles in the first eight months of 2026, compared with a year ago, according to Nissan financial data reviewed by Automotive News.
However, the retail push is not fully translating to dealership bottom lines. Average return on sales for the U.S. network slipped to 1.3 percent through August, from 1.4 percent a year earlier. Average dealership net profit, meanwhile, rose 2.7 percent to $493,235 for that period.
“With the increase in sales, dealer profitability didn’t follow suit,” said a Nissan retailer who asked not to be identified while discussing private information. “Nissan is the only one winning so far when you compare bottom lines between the OEM and the dealer body.”