The 2016 Nissan Frontier might be the oldest midsize pickup in the U.S. these days, but that’s not stopping customers from buying them. Nissan announced the Frontier posted a 72.7 percent year-over-year increase in July sales. That’s impressive. July 2016 sales are listed at 7,244 units. That’s far more that July 2015’s number of 4,194. It’s a difference of 3,050 trucks.
Nissan sold an impressive 62,817 Frontier pickups in the 2015 calendar year, but is quickly catching up with 52,255 Frontiers sold in 2016 as of the end of July. That leaves a gap of 10,562 units before the Frontier outsells itself over 2015. And with five months left to go, the likelihood is extremely high.
The Frontier’s highest sale this decade came in 2014, with 74,323 units moved. While there’s a disparity of 22,068 units between the Frontier’s current 2016 sales and 2014’s total sales, it’s completely possible Nissan will surpass the mark. Divided out, Nissan would only have to sell 4,414 Frontiers per month before December 31.
Looking holistically, June 2016 posted even better year-over-year sales. The Frontier sold 84 percent better than it did in June of 2015, with 8,166 examples moving off the lot verses 4,437 units in June of 2015. In fact, every month of 2016 has shown year-over-year gains from 2015 – though none as drastic and June and July’s numbers.
It’s in comparison to its rivals at Toyota and Chevrolet that Nissan’s sales look weak. Toyota sold 179,562 Tacomas in the 2015 calendar year while Chevy moved 84,430 Colorados. Still, there are folks buying the Frontier despite its age and relative lack of sophistication. We’ll jump into the reasons why below.
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Why It Matters
So why are people still buying the Frontier? Price is the most likely culprit. The 2016 Nissan Frontier carries a base price of $18,290. The Toyota Tacoma starts at $23,660 and the splits the difference at $20,100. The Frontier’s lower starting price means customers can opt for more features and higher trim levels at a lower overall cost.
A mid-grade Frontier SV Crew Cab in RWD without options costs $26,360 after destination, according to Nissan’s build and price website. Build the equivalent mid-grade SR5 Tacoma on Toyota’s website, and it costs $30,095 after destination. Chevy again splits the difference with a Crew Cab Colorado RWD in LT trim priced at $28815.
Beyond price, equipment might have something to do with it. Nissan offers the Frontier with a six-speed manual transmission in many of its trim levels and with either the four-cylinder or optional V-6 engine. Then again, modern consumers aren’t buying manual transmission vehicles like they used to.
Regardless of the reason, the Frontier continues to sell well. Of course, now that both the Titan XD and Titan pickups are arriving at dealerships, Nissan can turn its attention to developing the next-generation Frontier. Rumors already swirl it will come with Cummins’ 2.8-liter four-cylinder turbodiesel and ZF’s eight-speed automatic transmission.
Sales stats gathered from manufacturer press releases and GoodCarBadCar.net
2016 Nissan Frontier
Read our full review on the 2016 Nissan Frontier here.