Nissan Wants More Versas

Nissan North America Inc. says it is looking for more capacity for its new Versa subcompact, as sales are stronger than anticipated.

“I think it was after two months' sales we had a 13-day supply in inventory, and I thought, ‘Wow, I don't know whether we're going to be able to get more efficient than that.’ And the very next month we had a 6-day supply in dealer inventory,” Brad Bradshaw, NNA senior vice president-sales and marketing, tells Ward's.

A spokeswoman says Nissan is looking to build some Versas at its Cuernavaca, Mexico, plant. The Versa currently is assembled for the U.S. at Nissan's other Mexican plant in Aguascalientes.

Through September, total Nissan production was up 8.4% to 171,175 units at Aguascalientes, according to Ward's data. Cuernavaca output rose 5.5% to 86,839 units in the same period. To date, Nissan has built 26,507 Versas in Mexico.

Bradshaw says the Versa has benefited from this year's debut of the Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris subcompacts.

The Versa is one of the few bright spots for Nissan. Although the brand's sales are down 6.1% through September in the U.S., Versa deliveries have increased since it went on sale in June.