Nissan North America, Inc. joined the exclusive "million" club by reporting 1,000,000 total fiscal year sales, making NNA one of only six automotive companies in automotive history to have sold 1 million vehicles in the U.S. within a 12 month period. This milestone achievement, along with record breaking sales for the past three consecutive years, not only made company history, but also fulfilled NNA's fiscal year commitment to sell 1 million units.
"I've been a long time customer of Nissan," said Michelle Merson of Lexington Park, Maryland, the one-millionth customer who purchased her new 2005 Altima SE-R from Sheehy Nissan of Annapolis. "I previously owned a Maxima but sold it and switched to a different brand and it really wasn't the same. I bought my new Altima because I really wanted to come back to Nissan."
In recognition of being the millionth customer, NNA gave Ms. Merson her car for free.
"This is the first time in Nissan North America's history we've ever sold 1 million units in a year. We're extremely happy with not only meeting our fiscal year objective, but also by breaking our own sales records," said Jed Connelly, senior vice president, sales and marketing, NNA. "Although we've achieved our objective, we're still planning on selling cars for the rest of the day and our dealers are motivated to keep the momentum going. Overall, it was amazing to see everyone working collaboratively on meeting this task. We applaud all of our employees and dealers who worked hard towards this one million unit goal. And, of course, we thank our customers for placing their trust in our brand."
Sales growth was not only driven by established models such as the Altima mid-size sedan, but also by all-new products such as the more powerful all-new Nissan Xterra, the redesigned Frontier mid-sized pickup, the all-new third generation Pathfinder SUV and the full-size Titan pickup truck. The Infiniti Division also drew strong sales from the continued success of the Infiniti FX, the G35 coupe and sedan, and the all-new full size QX56 SUV. In its first full month of sales, the all-new Infiniti M had robust sales in March.
"We've come a long way as a company and we're proud of the work we've done so far. But there's far more work ahead of us," said Connelly. "Next year we're introducing several new products and we're anticipating the same type of excitement."