They're destroying the brand, dealers say privately
In the slow unraveling of a once-significant industrial presence, Nissan Argentina has quietly discontinued the savings plan for its new Kicks SUV after failing to attract even half the subscribers needed to form a buyer group. The move is less a business decision than a symptom—of a brand that has lost credibility, of employees who have stopped waiting, of dealerships that have begun looking elsewhere to survive. What began with the closure of a factory in Córdoba and the pending sale of commercial operations to a local buyer is now visible in the smallest details: a WhatsApp message to dealers, sixty-nine subscriptions where one hundred sixty-eight were needed, and a workaround that asks customers to buy one car in order to eventually receive another.
- Nissan needed 168 subscriptions to launch a Kicks buyer group in May — it got 69, a gap so wide the company quietly killed the plan via WhatsApp.
- The brand's collapse is not just financial: administrative staff are walking out daily, dealerships are adding rival brands to their floors just to keep the lights on.
- Ford's Territory is winning the compact SUV battle outright, drawing away the very customers the Kicks was designed to capture.
- Nissan's only offered workaround — subscribe for a different model, then request a transfer — signals a company no longer able to sell its own products on their own terms.
- The pending sale of Nissan's Argentine operations to Grupo Simpa drags on unresolved, leaving employees, dealers, and customers suspended in damaging uncertainty.
Nissan's Argentine chapter is closing, not with a single announcement but through a steady accumulation of quiet departures and small failures. The factory in Córdoba that once built the Frontier pickup is already shut. The company's entire commercial operation is being sold to a local group, Grupo Simpa — a transaction that, in practice, means a full exit from the country. But the official milestones tell only part of the story.
Inside the offices, people are not waiting for the sale to conclude. Administrative staff leave each day, choosing job security over loyalty to a process no one can predict. Entire departments are struggling to function. At the dealerships, the frustration has curdled into something sharper — franchise owners feel abandoned, left without a coherent plan while sales erode beneath them. Many have begun carrying competing brands simply to survive. "They're destroying the brand," dealers say privately.
Into this deteriorating landscape, Nissan launched the Kicks in December — a compact SUV intended to anchor the brand's remaining relevance in a segment that still draws meaningful interest in Argentina's subscription-based car market. It was meant to be a reason for optimism. Instead, it became another measure of how far the brand had fallen. The initial price was too high, the sales force lacked conviction, and Ford's Territory was already winning the segment decisively.
By May, only 69 people had subscribed to purchase a Kicks through the savings plan. The company needed 168 to form a viable buyer group. In early June, Nissan sent a message to its dealer network acknowledging the failure plainly — no spin, no recovery narrative. The savings plan was discontinued. Customers who still wanted a Kicks would have to subscribe for a different Nissan model first, then request a transfer. It was a workaround born of necessity, and everyone receiving that message understood what it really meant.
Nissan's presence in Argentina is collapsing in real time. The company that once manufactured the Frontier pickup in Córdoba has already shuttered that plant. Now it is selling its entire commercial operation to Grupo Simpa, a local buyer, which amounts to a complete exit from the country. These two announcements, made public in recent months, mark the visible end of what was once a significant automotive operation. But the real story is happening quietly, in the spaces between the official statements.
Inside Nissan's Argentine offices, people are leaving. Administrative staff depart each day, unwilling to wait for the sale to close before securing their next job. Some departments are struggling to function because there simply aren't enough people left to do the work. The sale negotiations themselves are moving slowly and proving complicated—no one knows when or how they will conclude. The uncertainty has become unbearable for many employees, who have decided not to wait around to find out.
At the dealerships, the mood is darker still. Franchise owners are furious at how the company has handled this transition—the lack of clarity, the absence of a coherent plan, the sense that Nissan's leadership has abandoned them to figure things out alone. Sales are falling as a result. Dealers cannot sustain their operations on Nissan vehicles alone anymore, so many are adding competing brands to their showrooms just to survive. "They're destroying the brand," dealers say privately. The frustration is palpable and justified.
Against this backdrop of institutional decay, Nissan launched a new model in December: the Kicks, a compact SUV meant to compete in a segment that still represents about five percent of Argentina's subscription-based car market. The Kicks was supposed to be a bright spot, a product that could anchor the brand's future. Instead, it has become another symbol of failure. The car simply is not selling.
By May, only sixty-nine people had subscribed to purchase a Kicks through Nissan's savings plan—a financing mechanism popular in Argentina where buyers join groups and wait their turn to receive a vehicle. The company needed one hundred sixty-eight subscriptions to form a viable buyer group. The gap was enormous and unbridgeable. The reasons were multiple: the brand itself had lost credibility, the initial price was too high (though it was later reduced to be more competitive), and the sales force lacked the energy or conviction to push the car. There was also Ford, which had captured customer attention with its Territory model, a direct competitor that was winning the battle for buyers' attention and money.
In early June, Nissan made a decision. The company sent a message to its dealership network via WhatsApp, informing them that the Kicks savings plan was being discontinued. Customers who wanted to buy a Kicks through the financing program would have to subscribe for a different Nissan model instead, wait to be assigned that vehicle, and then request a transfer to the Kicks. It was a workaround born of desperation—an acknowledgment that the company could not sell the car on its own merits.
The message itself was candid about the problem. Nissan admitted that it could not close a buyer group within the required sixty-day window. The company recognized the poor sales performance. It acknowledged that competitors were outmaneuvering it. There was no spin, no optimism, just the bare fact of failure. For anyone paying attention, it was a clear signal: Nissan's time in Argentina is ending, and the new Kicks, meant to be part of its future, had become just another casualty of its decline.
Notable Quotes
The company cannot close a buyer group within the required sixty-day window due to poor sales performance, brand credibility issues, and competitive pressure from Ford's Territory model— Nissan internal communication to dealership network
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why would a company discontinue a financing plan rather than just lower the price further or extend the deadline?
Because at a certain point, the problem isn't the price—it's the brand itself. If only sixty-nine people in the entire country want to buy your car even with financing help, lowering the price another ten percent won't change that. The market has already decided.
But Nissan is still operating in Argentina. Why not just wait it out, keep selling what they can?
Because they're not waiting it out. They've already announced they're selling the whole operation to another company. Everyone knows this is ending. Why would you buy a Nissan today if you're not sure Nissan will be here in two years to service it?
So the employees leaving—are they jumping ship, or are they being pushed out?
Both, really. The company hasn't formally laid everyone off. But when you know the ship is sinking, you don't wait for the captain to tell you to abandon it. People are protecting themselves.
What happens to the dealerships? Do they just close?
Some will. Others are already hedging by adding other brands. But it's messy and painful. These are businesses that built their entire operation around Nissan. Now they're scrambling.
Is there any chance Nissan reverses course and stays in Argentina?
Not really. The decision to sell was made at the corporate level. This isn't a temporary pullback. It's a full exit. The Kicks failure is just one more confirmation that the strategy has already changed.
What does this mean for customers who already bought a Kicks?
They own the car. But they're buying into a brand that's leaving the country. Parts, service, resale value—all of that becomes uncertain. It's a real problem for anyone who made that purchase.