Nissan Titan Sales Finally Gain Traction
The Nissan Titan full-size pickup had one of its strongest sales months in its history — going back to its 2003 introduction — posting 7,679 new-truck sales for November. That number sets a sales record for the new-generation Titan that's available in half-ton and heavier-duty Titan XD versions, beating its previous best monthly sales number by several thousand units. Nissan says there are reasons for that.
Nissan's strategy for this generation of the pickup was to roll out the plus-sized diesel Titan XD first, then roll out the lighter-duty model in key markets such Dallas, Houston, Phoenix and Salt Lake City before making it available nationwide. That strategy seems to be working.
"We are pleased with the Titan's performance in November. The momentum in our dealer network is just beginning as we now have the full lineup of trucks available, with the right mix, trained sales personnel, and correct marketing plan to grow. We expect the momentum to continue in December," Billy Hayes, vice president of Nissan North America trucks and light commercial vehicles, said in a statement.
A few factors contributed to this profound boost in monthly sales, including getting the right mix of Titans to dealer lots, educating sales staff about the pickups and providing a selection of Titan trim levels for showroom floors, and two successful ad campaigns.
The lighthearted "No Lazy Horses" commercial pokes fun at traditional pickup advertising messaging and targets younger, less-traditional buyers. Nissan says that ad is paying off. The automaker also offered extra incentives on Titans during its October Truck Month. Finally, Nissan has partnered with the upcoming new "Star Wars" movie, "The Last Jedi," and Nissan expects that to increase interest in the Titan when the movie debuts Dec. 15.
Only time will tell if Nissan can maintain this momentum or if Titan sales numbers will settle back to normal levels.
Cars.com photos by Evan Sears, Christian Lantry
Comments
What is that ugly thing on the front fender.
The just need to offer more options. They said they were finally going to offer more models with this updated version yet you can't even get a sunroof nor any other engine besides a 5.6 in the standard Titan.
I don't think one month of improved sales equals "momentum".
This thing isn't going anywhere anytime soon especially with the new redesigned RAM and gm trucks trucks getting ready to hit the market!
It needs to lose weight, add a v6 option and get the half ton towing up to 10k lbs (with the v8). And perhaps add some more gears to the gas transmission.
If Nissan offered the Titan with the 6-speed a manual transmission option (as in the Frontier), I'd by it faster than you could say, " 6-speed a manual transmission" ! (^_^)..
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Sales are up because Nissan finally came out with the extended cab version that everybody has been waiting for.
Nissan will always be the weird cousin of Toyota who is already boring and indifferent to customers (think Apple) but has a reputation for longevity and so many devout brand loyalists they can do anything they want and not give a flying F. Nissan shares that sentiment but is still viewed as the cheaper alternative to Toyota.
Even though the first generation Titan had a lot of features not standard at the time the reputation of the company is simply not there. Right now Nissan is trying to sell brightly-colored sporty trucks with cummins diesel options. Who does that sound like? That was Dodge in 1994 selling the new streamlined "big rig" in obnoxious colors with big V8's and diesels with sport packages. The 1994 Rams caught the attention of buyers, but the current Titan isn't. Why? Because Dodge and Chrysler in general already had a reputation for big flashy cars with obnoxious colors and big powerful engines, and done right that even made people overlook the fact that Chrysler products fall to pieces immediately. That reputation started in the 1960's (maybe earlier, I wasn't around) and was at least 4 decades old by the time the 1994 Rams were built and marketed.
Nissan on the other hand not only doesn't have that reputation but blew their chance by letting the first generation Titan hide in the shadows since 2003. Not only are they decades late but going through the motions while nobody is paying attention isn't working,. Reputations are earned, and Nissan is going to have to learn that before they become a major player. The only way to do that is to offer more configurations including to fleet buyers and become mainstream and not a gimmick off-brand truck that nobody buys regardless of its price or performance.
Well honestly sales could only get better for the Titan.
It probably has more to do with incentives. The ad and warranty also help.
The Titan (like the Tundra) is a viable alternative for a fan of the big 3 minus 1 that's been done wrong more than once and finally going to do something real about it.
If they keep it up, they will continue to take sales from the other trucks, just like the smaller ones do. It would be neat to see where the gaps go. IOW, if the titan sales increase which of the big 3 hurt the most. It would be equally interesting to see if or how much impact the GM mid size category takes away from thei current full size fleet, and then throw in how much of that also takes away from Ford sales since they do not have a mid size truck yet. PUTC, anyway you can get this kind of data?
-CT
All good things come to those who wait...and wait...and wait...
and...
I miss the old front ...
They're still trying to offload 2016 XDs for $20K off in Edmonton, Canada along side piles of 2017's.
This truck should be selling more than the Tundra, which is largely built on a design that is 11 years old. The fact that it cannot is more telling of reality than any recent numbers. Keep those rebates coming Nissan, the market demands them.
IA couple months ago, I did consider trading my f150 a Niisan Titan XD, I actually enjoyed the truck a lot, I got to test drive the truck a few weeks. I drove the SL edition model of the TitanXD, I really liked it.
I would definitely have bought the truck but it was not right time for the purchase due to some circumstances that caused the purchase not go through.
In the future I definitely consider purchasing Nissan Titan XD SL model, I see they are going to make a extended cab in 2018.
They're still trying to offload 2016 XDs for $20K off in Edmonton, Canada along side piles of 2017's. Posted by: Magnum74 | Dec 8, 2017
@Magnum74
How's the Canadian economy doing with the leftist government running things? it could explain soft pickup sales if folks aren't optimistic about their prospects.
No the real reason is they knocked 7k off the XD for a limited time and the measurement of sales us now askew. Come back to me with a 1st quarter 2018 report and lets compare.
It's still in the running for me but I think they're hideous looking.
Not surprising coming from the same company that designed the NV Shoebox on wheels.
Here in our area, it is so very rare to even see one of the new titans on the road. We don't even see 2 a week. That tells us that nobody in our area seems to want them compared to the other top brands. The market is speaking to Nissan and is apparently saying that they just don't have the right value proposition compared to the others that are out there. That's just our takaway.
in the state I live, contractors will not buy foreign owned vehicles cause when they show up for a job the union boys will just walk away or they will not get the contract sometimes.
Most RTW states they sell good, union states not so much, even though most union guys do not know that more Titans are built in the US then Ford f-150' trucks...
a friend almost signed the papers on a new F-150 until he put the vin number in his phone and found out it was built in Mexico...
Mls956
It's a good thing the Titan Xd is so heavy. That's part of why it tows so well. It's meant for towing stability, not unladen MPGs. Even then I'm getting 12-17 out of my XD 5.6. My neighbor with a 2015 F 150 v8 is getting identical economy.
I heard Nissan still has not decided whether the upcoming v6
Titan engine will be a twin turbo 3.8 v6 pushing 500 hp or a retooled 4 liter v6 pushing 310 hp
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