Nissan is offering incentives to solidify its place in the compact crossover segment, which represents one in five vehicles sold.
In January, the Japanese automaker introduced 0% financing over three years for its popular Rogue crossover, Automotive News reported. A 36-month loan matches the vehicle warranty and buying cycle and helps build customer loyalty.
The move helped the automaker pick up market share in the segment. Rogue sales spiked 69% to 147,745 vehicles in the first half of the year. Ford Escape and Hyundai Tucson, both competing with Rogue, also come with 0% offers, but their take rates are lower at 18% and 6%, respectively.
Interest rate offers are a powerful motivator for Nissan's price-sensitive customer base. According to Ivan Drury, director of insights at Edmunds, one in four Rogue buyers in July didn't pay interest charges.
The compact crossover segment has 18 nameplates in the U.S. Nissan revamped the Rogue in 2020.
Automotive News Research & Data Center shows that the Rogue is the third-fastest-growing nameplate in the crossover segment, after the Mazda CX-50 and Buick Envision. The data also shows the Rogue as third-ranked in volume, with the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V taking the top spots.
Rogue production is also up 59% year-over-year in the first six months, according to AutoForecast Solutions, though the time to move Rogue inventory at the dealership has nearly doubled to 62 days since the beginning of the year.
