Besieged automotive giant Nissan has suffered yet another blow, with news it is set to ax a number of showrooms under its luxury division, Infiniti.
Infiniti is set to draw the curtains on a swath of stand-alone premises in the US and merge with existing Nissan dealerships across the country.
The decision follows Nissan insiders revealing last month the brand had just “12 months to survive” after major European investor Renault signalled plans to scale back its interests in the company.
A week later, Nissan CFO Stephen Ma became the first victim of the brand’s well-publicised money troubles.
The Infiniti move comes amid news sales have dropped more than 50 percent in five years across the US, according to reports.
The luxury brand services 197 dealers across the US but each site only averages 24 car sales per month.
Infiniti data revealed the brand only sold 42,567 new vehicles in the US in the nine months to September this year – down from 87,934 vehicles sold during the same period in 2019.
Nissan North America’s vice president for dealer network development told Automotive News the Infiniti changes were designed to ensure the survival of the brand.
“Our evaluation, first and foremost, prioritises the health of the retailer and Infiniti business,” he said.
“Additionally, we considered expected sales, cost and availability of automotive real estate, and size of existing facilities, among other factors.”
The Infiniti woes are just the latest setback for the Japanese giant after news following the Renault leaks in November.