Nissan vehicle sales in the United States during the first quarter of 2024 increased by 8.5% year-over-year to 238,831. Unfortunately, EV sales barely increased this time.

In Q1, Nissan’s all-electric car sales amounted to 5,284, 1% more than a year ago and only slightly more than in Q4 2023 (5,113). The EV share out of the brand’s total volume amounted to 2.2% (compared to 2.4% a year ago).

Ariya Is Nissan’s Primary EV Right Now

The long-awaited Nissan Ariya joined the Leaf in late 2022 and right away started selling at higher volumes than the Leaf. In 2023, Nissan sold in the U.S. 20,616 EVs, including 13,464 Ariyas.

The Nissan Ariya model recorded 4,142 sales last quarter (up 45% year-over-year), while the Nissan Leaf was down 51% to 1,142.

There is no growth in EV sales because the expanding Nissan Ariya is barely offsetting the drop in Nissan Leaf sales.

Nissan BEV sales in Q1’2024 (YOY change):

• Nissan Ariya: 4,142 (up 45%)
• Nissan Leaf: 1,142 (down 51%)
• Total: 5,284 (up 1%) and 2.2% share

For reference, in 2023, Nissan sold 20,616 electric cars in the U.S. (69% more than in 2022), which was 2.5% of the brand’s total sales.

Nissan BEV sales in Q1-Q4’2023 (YOY change):

• Nissan Ariya: 13,464 (up 6,599%)
• Nissan Leaf: 7,152 (down 41%)
• Total: 20,616 (up 69%) and 2.5% share

Cumulatively, Nissan finally crossed 200,000 EVs in the U.S. (since December 2010), which once was a threshold for the $7,500 federal tax credit and the company’s annual Leaf sales ambition (150,000-200,000 Leafs).

Nissan recently announced pricing for the 2024 Nissan Ariya model, which will be up to $6,000 less expensive than before. The entry-level version starts at an MSRP of $39,590 (plus $1,390 DST). This should help to attract customers in the highly competitive crossover/SUV segment and maybe increase EV sales compared to 2023.