Welcome to the Daily 5 report for Tuesday, Sept. 23.
When it comes to fixing a global automaker, one solution we've seen over the years is management reinvesting in the core marques that created the company's success in the first place.
For financially troubled Nissan Motor Co. and new CEO Ivan Espinosa, that means giving its longtime entry-level Sentra sedan a significant upgrade for the 2026 model year to capture and recapture younger, value-oriented buyers in the U.S.
While the Detroit 3 forfeited the sedan competition in this market years ago, Japanese automakers have not. And won't.
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Espinosa no doubt understands that the average retail price of a new light vehicle in the U.S. stands at about $50,000.
A new 2025 Sentra can be purchased for about half of that price. We don't know yet what the 2026 Sentra will cost, but if Nissan can keep the sticker price under $30,000 — and executes the marketing correctly — its dealerships should be able to move the metal when the car hits lots in the fourth quarter.
As Urvaksh Karkaria reported, AutoForecast Solutions anticipates Nissan will sell about 150,000 Sentras in the U.S. this year. In the first half of 2025, the automaker sold 85,523 copies of the model. The sedan is Nissan's second-best seller in the U.S., accounting for 18 percent of deliveries in the first half of the year, Karkaria wrote.
"A buyer looking to move into their first vehicle can't afford a $50,000 truck and could find the attractive little Sentra as a strong option, perhaps leading to future sales of larger, more expensive Nissan models as their career progresses," AutoForecast Solutions Vice President Sam Fiorani said.
Nissan is also savvy enough to get more of its sedan customers into the Sentra. It will discontinue the subcompact Versa hatchback at the end of the year, while the long-term outlook for the midsize Altima remains unclear, our story says.
In other news, the cyberattack at JLR will continue to halt production into October, the automaker said.
Jaguar Land Rover's plants in Britain produce about 1,000 cars a day and the automaker is said to be losing tens of millions of dollars, with many of its 33,000 staff told to stay home, Automotive News Europe reported.
That's it for now. If you want to see this story in your browser, click here.
— Philip Nussel, online editor
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