It may be a success in its home market, but the Nissan Cube has faltered in Europe.
Sales of the box-styled Cube, a design that can be off-putting to consumers, have been way below projections by Nissan and many of the units alloted by country remain unsold as the year comes to a close.
For the U.K., where Nissan expected to sell around 2,000 units a year, sales so far for 2010 were only 686. In Italy, where Nissan also set aside 2,000 units annually, the automaker sold just 251 Cubes in the first nine months of this year. In the Netherlands, sales so far this year are a dismal 107 units.
Dealers in the U.K. are heavily discounting the Cube, with one dealer selling a well-equipped Cube for about one-third of the list price - £10,995 instead of £15,495.
Speculation is that the Cube may be removed from the U.K. and Italian markets, and perhaps others too by next year.
The disappointing sales in Europe are in stark contrast to the Cube's Japanese roots, where the model has sold over 1 million units since its introduction in 1998 and is now in its third generation.
Sales in the U.S. are hovering at a decent 20,000 units a year.
