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Thread: RIP Nissan Versa Note - cancelled. UPDATE: new Versa sedan for 2020

  1. #1

    RIP Nissan Versa Note - cancelled. UPDATE: new Versa sedan for 2020

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    The small hatchback pie continues to shrink in the U.S. Is this good for the Mirage's long term prospects?

    A report from CarsDirect says the 2019 Versa Note will cease being available this year.

    the automaker's 2019 order guide indicates model production will end this April. This is typically the sign that a model has been discontinued.
    Nissan hasn't confirmed or denied the news, but sales have been falling in both Canada and the U.S:

    the company says it sold a total of 75,809 of both [Versa sedan and Versa Note hatchback] in 2018, a 29% decline from the same period in 2017. For comparison, there were well over 42,000 sales of the Rogue and Rogue Sport just in December of last year.
    They say the Versa sedan will remain available for "another model year or two".

    Source: https://www.carsdirect.com/automotiv...note-hatchback

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    Related...
    Thread: Do you think Mirage will sell as much as Versa?




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  3. #2
    Hubcap Enthusiast Scratchpaddy's Avatar
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    I'm not surprised about the Note going away (I can't remember the last time I saw one), but the sedan still sells extremely well. Sales have declined in the past few years, but they're coming down from a tremendous high. For a few years, they were outselling the competition 3 to 1 (nearly 150,000/year vs. 20k-50k for other subcompacts).

    One of the guys I work with has a base blah white sedan. It has a little blue badge on the back boasting "Pure Drive," which is one way to put it. It does drive. It has crank windows. It has a radio with two speakers (stereo!). Everything inside is black and hard and hollow.

    But, it has a very generous backseat. And, it's cheap. That's why people buy it (and why nobody buys the $3,000-more-expensive Note, or the Fit, or the Yaris). Not many people in the U.S. or Canada are willing to spend more than $15,000 on a small car, especially if that car is a hatchback. The regular Versa hits that price point in a conventional sedan package, and it succeeded. All they have to do is refresh it a little, and people will continue to buy it. I don't understand why they would get rid of the the most successful subcompact of the past decade.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Scratchpaddy View Post
    I'm not surprised about the Note going away (I can't remember the last time I saw one), but the sedan still sells extremely well. Sales have declined in the past few years, but they're coming down from a tremendous high. For a few years, they were outselling the competition 3 to 1 (nearly 150,000/year vs. 20k-50k for other subcompacts).

    One of the guys I work with has a base blah white sedan. It has a little blue badge on the back boasting "Pure Drive," which is one way to put it. It does drive. It has crank windows. It has a radio with two speakers (stereo!). Everything inside is black and hard and hollow.

    But, it has a very generous backseat. And, it's cheap. That's why people buy it (and why nobody buys the $3,000-more-expensive Note, or the Fit, or the Yaris). Not many people in the U.S. or Canada are willing to spend more than $15,000 on a small car, especially if that car is a hatchback. The regular Versa hits that price point in a conventional sedan package, and it succeeded. All they have to do is refresh it a little, and people will continue to buy it. I don't understand why they would get rid of the the most successful subcompact of the past decade.
    Versa Note (CVT is standard) = Not interested! Wouldn't even look at one let alone consider one.
    Last edited by Mark; 03-06-2019 at 02:13 AM.

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  6. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Scratchpaddy View Post
    Sales have declined in the past few years, but they're coming down from a tremendous high.
    I've read this is due to Nissan deciding to reduce sales to fleets (rentals). The Versa sedan/Note are thick on the ground in rental lots.

    nobody buys the $3,000-more-expensive Note
    Last time I checked, sales were around 60/40 for the sedan to the Note in the States.

    In Canada, the sedan was dropped in 2014 because buyers were choosing the hatchback Note 9:1 over the sedan! But we never had the super-cheap MSRP on the base car than the U.S. has.

    I don't understand why they would get rid of the the most successful subcompact of the past decade.
    Margin. I imagine they've done the math, and it makes more sense to push people into the more expensive Kicks as their entry-level vehicle, even if absolute sales numbers decline.

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        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 63.2 mpg (US) ... 26.9 km/L ... 3.7 L/100 km ... 75.9 mpg (Imp)


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    Administrator Daox's Avatar
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    Oh well, more sales to go to the Mirage.
    Custom Mirage products: Cruise control kit, Glove box light, MAF sensor housing, Rear sway bar, Upper grill block

    Current project: DIY Nitrous oxide setup for ~$100

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  8. #6
    Yeah, that's possible. The total size of the small car pie may be shrinking, but with more and more competitors dropping out, the Mirage stands to gain a growing share that pie.

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        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 63.2 mpg (US) ... 26.9 km/L ... 3.7 L/100 km ... 75.9 mpg (Imp)


  9. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Daox View Post
    Oh well, more sales to go to the Mirage.
    Yeah, we were looking at BMW's.
    Last edited by Fummins; 04-11-2019 at 02:55 PM. Reason: cause

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    Hubcap Enthusiast Scratchpaddy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MetroMPG View Post
    Last time I checked, sales were around 60/40 for the sedan to the Note in the States.
    Interesting! Maybe it's a local thing, but the sedans are pretty common where I live, and I almost never see any Notes. Where were you able to find the sedan/hatch sales split data? All the info I found just mentioned that Nissan bundles the sales figures for both.

    Quote Originally Posted by MetroMPG View Post
    In Canada, the sedan was dropped in 2014 because buyers were choosing the hatchback Note 9:1 over the sedan! But we never had the super-cheap MSRP on the base car than the U.S. has.
    You also get the super-cheap Micra to choose from, so maybe they didn't want to cannibalize that market.

    Quote Originally Posted by MetroMPG View Post
    Margin. I imagine they've done the math, and it makes more sense to push people into the more expensive Kicks as their entry-level vehicle, even if absolute sales numbers decline.
    Good point. High sales doesn't always mean high profit. I was going to make the point that the Versa is one of the few Nissans sold in the U.S. which is not built in the U.S., but I see the Kicks is also built in Aguascalientes, and they can charge 50% more for it. Profit margins indeed...

  11. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Scratchpaddy View Post
    Where were you able to find the sedan/hatch sales split data? All the info I found just mentioned that Nissan bundles the sales figures for both.
    Right! The same way the Mirage hatch/G4 sedan sales numbers are combined by Mitsubishi.

    But I did find this reference, in an article where the writer talked to a Nissan rep about the sales domination of the Versa:

    "...Versa Note, which forms roughly 40 percent of Versa volume..."

    https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/20...ers-something/

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    Quote Originally Posted by Fummins View Post
    Yeah, we were looking at nissan's. They don't offer fleet pricing on the kicks but do for the versa. And Mitsubishi is offering better deals for the Mirage right now so for the Price of a Versa (equipped the same as the Mirage's we have) we could buy almost 2 Mirage's instead. Unless we get a smoking deal on a fleet of versa's it's looking like the Mirage is the way to go.
    Just curious? What's prevents your company from considering the Nissan Micra? Micra's base price is less than the Mirage, but the Micra doesn't come as well equipped for that base price from what I can tell. Is the Micra too basic for the price?



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