America's Most Affordable New Car Sees Sales Surge By 72%

• Nissan's 2024 sales gains prove affordable sedans still matter in a crowded SUV market.
• Infiniti's decline shows how outdated luxury strategies no longer resonate with buyers today.
• Weak sales of Rogue and Armada expose critical flaws in Nissan's current SUV strategy.

Nissan is in a whole lot of financial trouble and is banking on a proposed merger with Honda and Mitsubishi to reverse its fortunes. Despite all of the turmoil it's currently experiencing, there's a faint silver lining, as Nissan managed to eke out a small sales increase in the U.S. for 2024, thanks largely to the popularity of its more affordable models.

Last year, the Nissan group that includes Infiniti sold 924,008 vehicles nationwide. This represents a modest 2.8% increase compared to 2023. It also had a surprisingly strong Q4, reporting a jump in sales of 10.3% to 222,484 units. These increases came despite total Infiniti sales for the year dropping 10.2% to 58,070 units and the luxury brand's Q4 sales dipping 2.3% to 15,503.

More: Mitsubishi Mirage Doubles Sales In 2024 As Production Ends, Proving Cheap Still Sells

Nissan can thank the strong demand for vehicles such as the Versa, Sentra, Leaf, and Ariya, for its overall results. The Versa, America's most affordable new car, was a particularly strong performer as sales jumped 71.7% to 42,589 units, up from 24,087 in the year prior. During the October-December period, Versa sales were 91% higher than the same time in 2023.

The brand's best-selling sedan in the US last year was the Sentra, shifting 152,659 units, or 39.8% more than the 109,195 that were sold in 2023. It also enjoyed a strong Q4 as sales jumped by 43.7%. Other popular models for Nissan included the Leaf, with sales jumping 57% to 11,226 units, the Ariya (up 47% to 19,798 units), and the Z, which experienced a 78.7% surge to 3,164 units.

Nissan Sales

It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows for the Japanese brand, though. Some models sold fewer units in 2024 than in 2023. For example, Altima sales fell by 11% to 113,898, while 27.9% fewer Armadas found new homes. Sales of the Murano also dropped by 38% to 19,316, but that can be partly attributed to the fact that the brand recently unveiled an all-new generation model that'll arrive at dealerships this year. Worst of all, sales of the Rogue dropped by 9.5%. Even so, it remains Nissan's best-seller, with 245,724 units finding homes last year.

Infiniti couldn't match the sales rise enjoyed by the Nissan brand. As mentioned, it sold 10.2% fewer vehicles in 2024 than in 2023. Almost all of its models dropped compared to the previous year, with decreases ranging from 5.4% for the QX60 to 95.1% for the Q60. The luxury sports coupe's plunge isn't really a surprise, though, as it was discontinued at the end of 2022, so the 52 units that were sold were new old stock sitting at dealers' lots. The only Infiniti model to report an increase was the QX50, with sales up by 7.9%.

Infiniti Sales