Man catches Nissan dealership selling brand-new 2023s in 2025. What are these cars still doing on the lot?

20.02.2025 05:00

The Daily Dot

A car-centric influencer shared footage of a Nissan dealership's lot, showing un-purchased 2023 and 2024 models. The models in question are the brand's Ariya Venture+ EVs, promoted by Marvel actress Brie Larson as part of a 2023 ad campaign.

Thomas (@carsrme on TikTok) was stunned that no one has purchased these vehicles by February 2025. Typically, auto manufacturers will begin selling a model year months before that year in question. For instance, the 2023 Ariya crossover went on sale in "late fall" of 2022.

In a viral clip that's accrued over 50,000 views, Thomas highlights the vehicles. According to him, it's a bad look for the manufacturer. Other TikTok users have also expressed they believe Nissan is in dire straits as well.

Why are all these Nissan Ariyas on the dealership lot?

"Want to know how bad [the] market is?" Thomas asks viewers. "This is a brand new Nissan, Venture." Next, the video cuts to a close-up of the vehicle's sticker, which indicates the Ariya Venture+ is at least two years old. "That is a 2023, brand new. They wanted almost $50k for this thing, brand new."

Following this, the TikToker holds up his hands and does some vehicle release math. "It's like 3 model years old at this point, or at least two."

Due to the car being on the lot for so long, however, the dealership decided to append some discounts to its price tag. Thomas focuses on a green discount tag hanging from the rear-view mirror. "So look at that, over $20,000 off MSRP, and it's still sitting," he adds. "No one wants to touch it."

Afterward, Thomas discusses the vehicle's features. Judging from his initial glance at the interior, he doesn't believe the price is justified. "For $50k should it still have cloth seats in it? That's kind of mind-blowing to me," he says. "I'm so tempted to come here and offer them half."

New car for $20k?

Thomas speculates that this could translate to even more savings for staunch negotiators. That's because when it comes to selling vehicles, time is of the essence for dealerships. Autotrader states that sellers typically don't want to keep cars in stock longer than 90 days. The preferred timeline is 60 days or less.

If this is the case, then perhaps persistent hagglers might be able to whittle down the price of these cars, considering they've been left unsold for multiple fiscal quarters.

Next, Thomas explains what he plans on offering the dealership. "They want almost like $28k. I'd be like hey if you take $20k I'll take it home today," he says. "At that point, you're getting a brand new car for $20k."

Thomas then approaches another vehicle on the Nissan dealership's lot. This one is a 2024 model. "No one's buying these things and it's like, you wonder why?" he says. "'Cause 50 grand for, ehh-sized SUV with a cloth interior. And it's an EV, and it's a Nissan so it's like negative, negative, negative, negative... just all negatives."

Is EV fever dying down?

According to Gallup polls, fewer classic vehicle owners have made the jump to electric cars. Nearly half of surveyed individuals have expressed they don't have an interest in buying cars that solely rely on charging for power.

This is due to a litany of factors. Relatively high purchase prices and turgid repair costs have kept some buyers away. The latter is especially true as there are plenty of folks who have posted the "ludicrous" amounts of money needed to fix a used EV.

Consequently, the sales of pre-owned electric vehicles, especially non-Tesla models, are purportedly low. In turn, this affects the resale value of an EV, which appears to have affected sales of newer ones that have been manufactured. This is ultimately perceived as a poorer investment when compared to vehicles with demonstrably higher resale amounts.

Moreover, charging infrastructures, times, complications, and overall availability are concerns inhibiting new EV adopters. Additionally, it would appear that these same issues have caused electric vehicle owners to switch back over to gas vehicles, too.

This may also be the case for folks concerned with the ecological impact of their purchases. The "greenest" most sustainable car of 2024 wasn't a fully electric vehicle, but the 2024 Toyota Prius.

This is, at least in part, attributed to the practices of mining lithium, which has severe ecological ramifications. Not to mention the waste that could arise from the myriad of unsold used electric cars.

@carsrme Nissan is still selling brand new 2023 and it’s 2025 #car #nissan #newcars #carmaintenance #carfails #ev #cars ♬ original sound - Thomas

'Why in the world was this 50k to begin with?'

Several commenters stated that they agreed with Thomas' assessment.

One person wrote that they were worried about potentially uncovered repair costs. "Warranty about to expire," they said.

Another posted their own offer for one of the Ariya cars. "10k and am losing money," they wrote.

Others couldn't understand why Nissan would see the Ariya at its original price point. One wrote, "Why in the world was this 50k to begin with?"

A further user echoes this sentiment: "50k no, but 30k is a good price."

Another TikToker spoke about their issues with the Ariya's MSRP cost, too. "Problem is that in that price point you're better off with a Toyota," they argued.

But someone else said that Nissan isn't the only manufacturer with unsold inventory, either. "Dodge was still selling 2019 caravans in like 2022," they claimed.

The Daily Dot has reached out to Nissan via email and Instagram DM for further comment.

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