Nissan and Infiniti December 2009 Sales Up 18%

Gladly leaving 2009 behind for a better 2010.

Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA) said today that December 2009 sales totaled 73,404 units versus 62,101 units a year earlier, an increase of 18%.

Nissan Division sales rose 19% for the month, while sales of Infiniti vehicles were 10% higher than a year before.

For calendar year 2009, combined Nissan and Infiniti sales totaled 770,103 vehicles, compared with 951,350 vehicles sold in 2008, a 19% decline.

This means that Nissan experienced roughly the same overall decline in 2009  as Toyota and Honda.

“The industry is coming out of a very tough year; it’s good to see 2009 behind us,” said Brian Carolin, senior vice president, Sales and Marketing, NNA.

“Despite the huge challenges and uncertainties of last year, combined Nissan and Infiniti market share set a record in 2009. And looking ahead, we’re encouraged by some signs of economic improvement. Showroom traffic is building and consumer confidence is rising.”

Nissan is launching eight new vehicles in the U.S. market, including the Nissan LEAF battery-electric car during the next year.

Nissan Highlights

• Nissan Division posted sales of 64,296 units in December compared with 53,829 units sold in December 2008, a 19.4% increase.
• Nissan Versa sales in December set a record for the month at 6,809 units, a 32.5% increase over December 2008 sales.
• Other Nissan models with double-digit, year-over-year sales increases in December were Maxima (59.5%), Z (63%), Frontier (113.1%), Xterra (14.9%), Pathfinder (49.2%) and Armada (75.8%).
• For calendar year 2009, Rogue set a record of 77,222 sales, a 7.2% increase over 2008, and sales of Maxima and Z saw increases of 13.3% and 26.9%, respectively, compared with calendar year 2008 sales.

Infiniti Highlights

• Infiniti sales for December 2009 were 9,108 units, up 10.1% from the 8,272 units sold in the same month a year earlier.
• Infiniti EX sales set a December record with 901 units sold, a 2.7% increase over the 877 units sold in December 2008.
• December sales of the Infiniti QX56 full-size luxury sport-utility vehicle rose 205.4% to 1,136 vehicles compared with December 2008 sales of 372 units.
• Sales of the G37 Coupe totaled 1,626 units in December, a 54.4% increase over the same month in 2008, and FX sales were up 29.4%, to 1,096 units, compared with December 2008 sales of 847 vehicles.