A group calling itself "Concerned Nissan Dealers" shared a new scathing letter with Car Dealership Guy News, the second we've received this year.
Driving the news: The December letter, distributed anonymously "in the interest of unity, candor, and the protection of dealer principals, employees, and their families," targets Nissan One, a simplified dealer incentive program that Nissan launched this past June.
CDG News confirmed with multiple Nissan dealer sources who wish to remain anonymous that this latest letter is authentic.
Also known as a stair-step program, Nissan One is a dealer bonus system where Nissan provides kickbacks to dealers for hitting certain operating objectives.
"Under Nissan One, dealers are being paid less than before, despite the fact that profitability was already inadequate under the prior structure," the letter states. "To survive, many dealers are forced back into NRCs, fleet-retail, and broker transactions simply to meet Nissan-imposed volume objectives."
"There was a time, not that long ago, when Nissan's enterprise value far exceeded that of Kia, Hyundai, Mazda, and Subaru," the letter goes on to say. "Today, Nissan is a fraction of their value. This decline is not the result of market forces or weakened consumer demand; it is the direct consequence of years of poor management decisions and a fundamental misunderstanding of how dealer profitability drives brand value."
Between the lines: Nissan's struggles with incentive spending and dealer profitability predate the current tensions.
In 2019 and 2020, Nissan experienced steep sales declines—down 22.2% year-over-year by the end of the fourth quarter in 2020. At that time, the company vowed to trim back bonuses and ended up delivering the largest monthly program volume reduction (30% under its three-year average).
But over time, programs once again became bloated. And this past May, Vinay Shahani, Nissan's then-SVP of U.S. Marketing and Sales, told CDG News that Nissan had decided to overhaul its programs after a thorough audit.
Nissan One launched June 3, 2025, as the result of that review.
Yes but, dealers say the program delivered the opposite of what Shahani promised.
The December letter states: "Return on sales remains unacceptable; incentives are misaligned, and programs that were promoted as 'dealer supportive' have instead increased operational complexity while delivering little to no financial upside."
In fact, the authors of the letter call Nissan One "one of the most damaging programs in the company's history" and states that "many Nissan dealerships are now effectively unsellable, not due to a lack of effort or commitment by the dealer body, but as a direct result of flawed corporate strategy and execution."
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In response, representatives from Nissan shared this statement with CDG News: "We are evaluating changes to Nissan One aimed at continued retail sales gains and supporting dealer financials, while ensuring program targets are equitable, reasonable, and achievable for dealers across the country."
Zooming out: The December letter outlines two specific demands.
First, Nissan must reduce dealer sales objectives to "realistic and attainable levels, reflective of current market conditions, inventory realities, and true consumer demand."
Second, Nissan must provide "meaningful below-the-line financial support that restores dealer profitability rather than forcing reliance on unprofitable end-of-quarter tactics, fleet tail, broker transactions, and volume-driven deals that further erode franchise value."
The letter warns: "If Nissan fails to act promptly and in good faith, dealers will be left with no viable alternative but to pursue all available remedies, including coordinated legal action."
Looking ahead: The authors call on dealers to "take control of their own businesses" by reducing stock to 30-day supply and recommitting to balanced new- and used-vehicle strategies that “reflect economic reality rather than volume mandates."
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