Nissan Cuts Prices On Seven US Car Models After Airbag Recall

As Nissan cuts prices on seven out of 18 car models sold in the United States, some people are probably wondering why.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, before Nissan cut its prices, the car manufacturer was forced to recall five models over faulty airbags.

All five models involved in the recall are the Nissan Altima, Sentra, Pathfinder, and Leaf as well as the Infiniti JX35. Only US models were recalled, with versions of the same cars in other nations not being effected.

Now Nissan is cutting prices on seven of its 18 models in the United States in hopes the vehicles will show up in more Internet searches by shoppers. The Nissan price cuts vary from model to model depending on the equipment. The Nissan Altima is only dropping by $580, or 2.7 percent, while the Nissan Armada SUV is having its price cut by a whopping $4,400, or 10.7 percent.

The other models being cut by Nissan are the Sentra, Juke, Murano, Rogue, and Maxima. So, obviously, the Nissan airbag recall has nothing to do with the price cuts.

Nissan’s CEO is currently targeting a 10 percent US market share within three years. Nissan cutting prices is part of that strategy. Jose Munoz, Nissan senior vice president of sales and marketing for the Americas, said the seven vehicles account for 65 percent of Nissan’s American sales. He says the sticker prices are being adjusted downward because “in some of the customer searches we may not appear. We want to be considered by as many customers as possible.”

Nissan is having a great 2013 so far. Even before Nissan cut its prices, in April the car manufacturer’s North American division saw a 23.3 percent rise in sales from the month before. The Nissan Leaf electric car saw the biggest gains, jumping up 423 percent to sell 1,937 cars. Munoz says, “Our strong performance in April was driven largely by double- and even triple-digit increases on some of our core products, such as Altima up more than 35 percent, Sentra up nearly 45 percent, Rogue up 39 percent and the all-new Pathfinder up over 214 percent.”

As Nissan cuts prices, will this decision affect any car-buying decisions this year?