Only 31 NVs sold nationwide through March

CANTON, Miss. — Nissan Motor Co. officials say it's too early to dismiss the initial sales figures as signifying a slow start for its new commercial van.

The NV, Nissan's first domestically built light commercial vehicle, has sold 31 units so far this year, 19 of them coming in March, when dealers began receiving shipments of the vehicles, according to the automaker. Production began in January at the automaker's Canton plant.

Nissan spokesman Brian Brockman tells The Clarion-Ledger that some dealers have only recently gotten the vans onto their lots and the vehicles will build momentum once they're widely available.

"We're in the phase of ramping up production and getting them out to dealers," he said.

Bill Visnic, an analyst with automotive website Edmunds.com, tells the newspaper that the initial sales aren't encouraging.

"It's going to have to be more than that," he said.

Visnic said the flexibility of the NV, which has standard and high-roof design options, will help it stand out against competitors like Ford's Econoline and Transit Connect brands.

Light commercial van sales have accounted for as much as 16 percent of Nissan's overall global sales during the last two years. The company plans to produce its first LCV for the growing India market and has introduced four new models overseas in the last three years.

Some Mississippi dealers that sell the NV said sales are good and interest in buying the vehicles remains high.

Michael Joe Cannon, who operates Cannon Nissan in Jackson, says he's sold three of six NVs that recently arrived on his lot.

He admits the vehicles have a limited customer base but feels Nissan will be able to match the vans to customers who need them.

"Nissan has always found a way to overcome whatever hurdles there are," Cannon said.

Selling the NV is quite different than moving Altimas or Sentras off lots, Brockman said.

While people buy cars, trucks and SUVs by visiting dealer showrooms, commercial vehicle sales often aren't done through walk-in visits to dealerships but at businesses looking to buy them, Brockman said.

Tony Petro of Petro Nissan in Hattiesburg plans to have a member of his sales staff visit with business customers in south Mississippi and southeast Louisiana to pitch the NV.

He said he's sold three NVs in the last couple of weeks, and three or four more vehicles should arrive at his dealership soon. He said people from as far away as New Orleans and Pensacola, Fla., are calling about the vehicles.

One sold van was en route to a locksmith firm in Mobile on Wednesday, Petro said.

"The dealer has to go and find the customer base, as opposed to the customer finding you," Brockman said.

Brockman said Nissan has included incentives to spur sales. They include free exterior signage of up to 70 square feet, free custom packages like interior shelving and partitions or $300 cash rebates.

Brockman said it's too early to tell if six days of production that will be lost this month at the Canton plant because of the Japan earthquake's impact on automotive production will greatly impact future NV sales.

The Canton plant also builds the Altima sedan, Armada SUV and Titan pickup.

The non-production days had been scheduled before the earthquake but were moved up to April to lessen the quake's effect, the company said.