August 2014 New Auto Sales: Nissan Sales Up Over 11% Despite Steep Drop In Infiniti Deliveries

Nissan North America Inc. reported an 11.5 percent increase in U.S. sales in August compared to the same month last year, beating Wall Street forecasts that expected only Chrysler Group LLC to post double-digit sales growth for the month. This growth came despite a 23 percent drop in sales for Nissan’s Infiniti luxury car division, which saw consumers gravitating to rivals in this category.

"August was the best-ever month for Rogue and all-electric Leaf sales, and other core models like Altima, Sentra and Versa continue to bring in new customers,” Fred Diaz, head of the company’s sales and marketing, said by email.

The Rogue is Nissan’s second-best seller. Consumers boosted sales of the compact crossover by 24 percent to 21,419, while deliveries of Nissan’s three core sedan models Altima, Sentra and Versa collectively jumped 19 percent to 63,965. Nissan Leaf, the best-selling all-electric car in history, saw a 32 percent jump in sales compared to August 2013 on the low volume of just under 3,200 units.

The U.S. subsidiary of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201) reported declines across the Infiniti line except for the all-new 2014 Q50 compact sedan and the QX50 luxury crossover. Nissan pickup sales also retreated, by 14 percent as consumers gravitated to stronger deals from Chrysler’s Ram truck line.

Here’s a recent review of the upcoming answer to Infiniti’s problems, the Q50 Eau Rouge full-sized luxury sedan: