Dealer markups on Nissan Leaf possible
Will demand outstrip supply?
Final pricing rests with the dealer
Nissan has been taking reservations on the Nissan Leaf for a while now, but the automaker is just about ready to turn those reservations into orders according to Straightline.
However, final pricing needs to be negotiated with the dealer. Thus, are dealer markups a possibility?
A few weeks ago a California auto dealer stated that because of limited Chevy Volt supplies – just 9 Volts in 2011 for this dealership – a $20,000 dealer markup would be added to MSRP to offset demand.
Yet, while Nissan has announced pricing on the Leaf ($33,600 – $34,540), all deals must be negotiated with a dealer, and since the first year of Leaf sales will also face limited supplies, dealer markups seem a possibility.
While many will defend the supply and demand fundamentals of such markups, aren’t such dealer markups bad business?
Why not, for instance, spread sales throughout the year and raffle off these plug-in vehicles? Wouldn’t this drive traffic to dealerships? Might that not lead to enough extra non-plug-in sales to offset the lack of a dealer markup?
Certainly, leaving money on the table isn’t a great way to do business, but I’d bet some dealer creativity could lead to far more long term profits than the profits squeezed out of limited short term plug-in supplies.
That’s good news then. Nonetheless, I don’t think I “got it wrong”. I said “possible” based on a report from Edmunds. Likewise, I’d bet dealer markups are still possible.
You got it wrong. Currently the Leaf is selling at MSRP or well below. Dealers in Washington and California are offering the Leaf for 1,000 to 2,000 below MSRP. Nissan allows the customers to control which dealers get the cars before the dealers. So the dealers are at the mercy of the customers. Many people in Arizona are buying their cars from a Washington dealer for $100 below invoice + $450 for transportation to Arizona.