December 2010 Sales: Nissan/Infiniti

[Drew Dowdell]

NISSAN NORTH AMERICA RISE 27.7% IN DECEMBER; 18% FOR YEAR

Nissan sales rise 26.3% over last year; enjoys best-ever December

Infiniti up 37.3%; Infiniti M leads gains at 115.5%, G Sedan Line up 58%

Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA) today reported record December U.S. sales of 93,730 units versus 73,404 units a year earlier, an increase of 27.7 percent. Nissan Division sales were up 26.3 percent for the month, also a December best. Sales of Infiniti vehicles rose 37.3 percent over the prior year.

For 2010, NNA full-year sales finished up 18 percent, at 908,570 units. Nissan Division sales finished at 805,159, an increase of 16.9 percent versus 2009. Infiniti sales finished at 103,411, gaining 27.5 percent.

NISSAN HIGHLIGHTS

• Nissan vehicles posted sales of 81,228 units in December compared with 64,296 units sold in December the previous year, an increase of 26.3 percent.
• Nissan Rogue and Versa set new December records. Rogue totaled 10,363 deliveries, up 58.2 percent; and Versa at 10,201, an increase of 49.8 percent.
• Altima deliveries totaled 23,016, a 23.5 percent increase over December 2009.
• The 100-percent electric, zero-emission Nissan LEAF marked its first deliveries in December.

“We finished the year strong, thanks to high demand for bread-and-butter models like Altima, Versa, Sentra and Rogue,” said Al Castignetti, vice president and general manager, Nissan division. “We’re continuing Nissan’s growth, with double-digit gains in 2010 for the majority of our lineup, which is only strengthened by the addition of great new vehicles like Nissan LEAF and Juke.”

INFINITI HIGHLIGHTS

• Infiniti sales for December were 12,502 units, up 37.3 percent from the 9,108 units sold in the same month a year earlier.
• The all-new Infiniti M Line finished the year strong, with deliveries up 115.5 percent over December 2009.
• Sales of the Infiniti G Sedan Line rose 58.0 percent, due in part to initial sales of the new G25 sports sedan.
• The all-new QX luxury SUV enjoyed its best December since 2004, with 1,157 units sold, an 88.7 percent increase over the prior year.

“Infiniti had another great sales month, with consumers continuing to respond to Inspired Performance, led by the Infiniti M Line, G Line and QX,” said Ben Poore, vice president, Infiniti Business Unit. “We’re proud to have used this strong lineup of vehicles to grow Infiniti sales back over annual 100,000 units.”

NOTE: To ensure consistency in global sales reporting, Nissan North America calculates monthly variances on a straight-percentage basis, unadjusted for the number of selling days. December 2010 had 27 selling days versus 28 in December 2009.

In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program 2010 and has been recognized as a 2010 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency.