2014 Nissan Sentra S on 2040-cars

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Auto sales in March and first quarter down nearly across the board

Nearly every major automaker reported weak U.S. sales for March and the first quarter of 2019, citing a rough start to the year, but said a robust economy and strong labor market should encourage consumers to buy more vehicles as 2019 rolls on. GM, which no longer releases monthly sales figures, saw first-quarter sales fall 7 percent, with declines across all brands. Sales of Silverado pickup trucks fell nearly 16 percent and the high-margin Chevy Suburban large SUV dropped 25 percent. Ford also no longer releases monthly sales numbers, but is due to release its first-quarter sales figures on Thursday. According to industry data, Ford's sales fell 2 percent in the quarter and 5 percent in March. Ford representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. FCA reported a 7 percent fall in U.S. sales in March and a 3 percent drop for the first quarter. All of FCA's brands dropped in March, except for Ram, which saw a 15 percent increase in pickup truck sales. "The industry had a tough first quarter, but with spring finally starting to show its face and continued strong economic indicators ... we are confident that new vehicle sales demand will strengthen going forward," FCA's U.S. head of sales, Reid Bigland, said in a statement. Toyota reported a 3.5 percent fall in U.S. sales in March and 5 percent for the first quarter, hurt by declining demand for its Corolla sedans and Camry vehicles. "While some of our competitors are abandoning sedans, we remain optimistic about the future of the segment," Toyota said in a statement. Nissan posted a 5.3 percent drop in sales in March, and its first-quarter sales were down 11.6 percent. Honda and Hyundai bucked the trend. Honda's U.S. sales rose 4.3 percent in March and 2 percent in the quarter, while Hyundai's were up 1.7 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively. Passenger-car sales suffered throughout the January-March quarter compared with the same period in 2018 as Americans continued to abandon them in favor of larger, more comfortable pickup trucks and SUVs, which are far more profitable for automakers. The battle for market share in the particularly lucrative large-pickup truck market intensified in the quarter, as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Ram brand outsold the U.S.' No. 1 automaker General Motors' Chevrolet-brand trucks. The two automakers have both launched redesigned pickup trucks.

Nissan expands US EV test market for e-NV200 to Portland

Of course, it's going to be Portland. Oregon's largest city, known for its green-friendly vibe and policies, will be where Nissan will next test of its all-electric e-NV200 cargo van. And we hope those vans have cup holders for the inevitable java. The Japanese automaker is working with local utility company Portland General Electric (PGE) on a six-week trial program. Nissan and PGE will record data to better measure how the concept of battery-powered driving works within the local services network. The location makes sense, as Portland is one of the five best-selling US cities when it comes to sales of the Nissan Leaf, which shares its powertrain with the e-NV200. Nissan kicked off its "No Charge to Charge" free-charging program for new Leaf owners in April. Nissan, which had already been testing the e-NV200 with FedEx in Germany, Japan and Singapore as of late last year, said at the Washington Auto Show in January that it would start testing the electric van in the Washington, DC, area. Nissan said at the time that it helped install about 570 fast-charging CHAdeMO chargers throughout the US since last year, including 200 in December alone. Check out Nissan's press release about the Portland project below. LEADING EV MARKET PORTLAND BECOMES TEST BED FOR NISSAN E-NV200 ELECTRIC COMMERCIAL VEHICLE PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland, already a top breeding ground for electric vehicle (EV) sales, is now the proving ground for Nissan's prototype electric commercial vehicle – the Nissan e-NV200. Nissan is working in collaboration with Portland General Electric (PGE) on a six-week trial to help determine the viability of an electric commercial vehicle in the U.S market. PGE has assigned the e-NV200 into its fleet of vehicles with an underground crew, replacing a larger, diesel-powered van. "Oregon has been a top five market for Nissan LEAF sales in the U.S. due to proactive policies at the state level to encourage EV adoption, as well as robust charging infrastructure championed by the state and others like PGE," said Toby Perry, Nissan's director of EV Marketing in the U.S. "If we determine that e-NV200 fits into the U.S. commercial vehicle market, we expect that Portland would be a leading driver for sales as well." This year, Nissan is deploying two e-NV200 prototypes with companies such as PGE and FedEx in top U.S EV markets including California, Georgia, Oregon and Washington, D.C.

Nissan e-NV200 electric van will start FedEx testing in DC

The electric van test program that Nissan and FedEx announced today at the Washington Auto Show isn't really all that new. After all, FedEx is already testing the all-electric e-NV200 in Singapore, Japan and Germany. The news today is that FedEx will be one of the first companies to test the EV in the US, and Nissan brought a prototype to the show to gin up interest. 200 CHAdeMO stations were added in December, a monthly record. The e-NV200 uses a powertrain similar to what's in the Nissan Leaf and weighs about the same as that passenger car, but Nissan isn't talking about US performance figures quite yet. Nissan isn't even saying if the vehicle will even come to the US, but this test program sure hints that something like that is in the works. For now, all that's official is that Nissan will bring two - yes, just two - e-NV200 units to the US, letting FedEx test one in the Washington, DC area for between six to eight weeks before cycling the EVs to other companies in the US over the next year. The idea, as you may have guessed, it to gather data on how companies might use this van and let Nissan figure out if it wants to sell the e-NE200 here. The van will start being built in Barcelona, Spain this spring and is currently intended for Europe and Japan. FedEx is no stranger to greener vehicles, and has 167 EVs in its US fleet right now. Read more in the press release below. The e-NV200 can use CHAdeMO fast charging, and Nissan said today that it has helped install 570 of those DC fast chargers in the US since announcing expansion plans last year. At the time, the target was 500 chargers in 18 months, so things are progressing faster than publicly anticipated. In fact, 200 CHAdeMO stations were added in December, a monthly record. Jan. 22, 2014 Nissan and FedEx Express Put All-Electric e-NV200 to Work in Collaborative U.S. Test WASHINGTON, D.C. - FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp., and Nissan announced today at the Washington Auto Show that the two companies will begin testing the Nissan e-NV200, a 100 percent electric compact cargo vehicle, under real world conditions in Washington, D.C. This test marks the first time the vehicle will be running in North America. FedEx Express and Nissan have conducted similar e-NV200 tests with fleets in Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom and Brazil. FedEx and Nissan are both committed to reducing the environmental impact of their operations worldwide.