Nissan Has Great Sales, Pays Out Big Incentives And Rebates To Dealers To Get There

Image courtesy of Michael B.

Nissan is one of the top auto brands in the country, which is nice and all, but the owner of the country’s largest chain of auto dealers gave us a peek under the hood to explain why he doesn’t like the practices that help get it there. Namely, the company gives huge rebates and incentives to dealerships that make their sales goals.

It’s these incentives that customers can use to their advantage by doing things like walking in at the end of the day or the end of the month, or trying to haggle aggressively. After all, if a five-figure bonus is on the line for the whole dealership, there should be room to negotiate on price, right?

The chain AutoNation deals with a variety of automakers, and CEO Mike Jackson told Bloomberg that he’s tired of the incentive bonus game.

“It’s a discriminatory, multi-tier pricing system that creates winners and losers among customers and retailers,” he told the news service. “The manufacturer is giving the perception that something’s available to everyone, but it’s not really.”

Other automakers either don’t use bonus programs, or have scaled them back in recent years. Nissan, however, pays dealers about $2,000 per car that they sell in retroactive bonuses.

Nissan May Win U.S. Sales But Biggest Dealer Doesn’t Like How [Bloomberg]

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