After years of restructuring, Nissan Group is finally reaping the rewards. The company’s Re:Nissan recovery plan appears to be paying off as the automaker is seeing sustained growth in the United States, reporting 7.8% third-quarter U.S. retail sales growth year-over-year, driven by strong customers demand across the Nissan and Infiniti brands.
Nissan remained America’s fastest-growing mainstream automotive brand for the 13th consecutive month and delivered its 19th consecutive month of year-over-year retail sales growth. The brand’s retail sales rose 6.8% during the quarter while September retail sales rose 13.2%.
Trucks and SUVs Drove the Growth
Nissan
The impressive results were driven by strong demand for the brand’s “core truck and SUV lineup,” Nissan said in a press release. It’s worth pointing out that Nissan currently has a single pickup truck model in its range, the Frontier, as the larger Titan was discontinued after the 2024 model year.
The midsize truck again was the fastest-growing truck in the U.S., with retail sales up 44% year over year. The Nissan Armada and Rogue SUVs posted similar growth rates of 42% and 41%, respectively. Things are looking good for the Pathfinder as well, with the midsize three-row SUV delivering its second-best third-quarter retail sales performance ever.
Nissan says these achievements were possible because it focused on retail sales and prioritized customer demand through its dealer network while reducing rental fleet volume. As a result, rental fleet sales fell by 45% year-over-year during the quarter and 33% year-to-date.
Nissan is expecting the sales growth to continue as it is gearing up for the launch of the all-new 2027 Rogue Hybrid in November.
Infiniti Retail Sales Are Up 21% Year-Over-Year
Cole Attisha
As for Infiniti, retail sales rose 21% year-over-year in the quarter, marking its strongest quarter-over-quarter retail sales growth since 1999. The QX60 was the brand’s volume leader during the quarter, while the all-new QX65 saw a 22% sales increase in September compared to August and made up 32% of retail sales volume.
The range-topping Infiniti QX80 delivered its best-ever September and third-quarter retail sales performances, helping give Infiniti the title of the fastest-growing brand in the luxury full-size SUV segment.
A key part of the company’s long-term restructuring and growth plan is the “build where you sell” strategy, with U.S. vehicle assembly expected to reach 80% by 2030. The automaker appears to be on the right track as vehicles currently assembled at its Tennessee and Mississippi factories made up nearly 60% of combined Nissan and Infiniti sales through September—up 9% from a year ago.
U.S.-built models include the Nissan Rogue, Murano, Pathfinder, Frontier, and Altima, as well as the Infiniti QX60 and QX65.
The most important part of this story isn’t simply that we’re growing, it’s how we’re growing. We’re attracting more retail customers, improving loyalty and gaining momentum in some of the most competitive segments in the industry. We’re also building a stronger, more profitable dealer network, with average Nissan dealer profitability making solid year-over-year gains during the quarter.
Nissan noted it recorded “the largest increase in customer loyalty among major automakers”—up 3.9 percentage points calendar-year-to-date through July. It also improved inventory efficiency in order to support long-term dealer profitability and sustainable growth.
