Nissan Canada kills Cube, is US next?

Mon, 12 May 2014

Canadians, say goodbye to the quirky Nissan Cube. In fact, it's too late; it's already gone. The question now becomes whether the boxy model gets the axe in the US as well.

Nissan didn't exactly publicize the Cube's Canadian retirement. An Autos.ca reader noticed that the vehicle was no longer listed on the automaker's official site in the Great White North. He tweeted the company about it and was told, "Yes, the Nissan Cube has been discontinued in Canada."

The news certainly makes you wonder what the future for the model is in the US. The Cube isn't exactly a hot seller here, either. According to Nissan's last sales results, it sold just 356 units in April, down 23.9 percent from a year ago, and 1,604 vehicles from January to April, down 33.7 percent. Annual sales were as high as 23,000 units in 2010, but they started dipping as early as 2011.

Nissan North America Director of Communications, Dan Bedore, tells Autoblog: "Nissan is committed to providing Canadians with exactly the right car to fit their lifestyle. At this time, customers are finding their needs are met with the other great small cars in our lineup like Micra, Versa Note, Sentra and Juke and we are putting our focus behind these vehicle nameplates."

And what of US sales? Says Bedore, "In the US, the 2014 model is in showrooms, now. We have no comment on Cube sales in the US beyond the current model year." Suffice it to say that despite the official "No Comment" from Nissan, we don't expect to see any Cube models in US showrooms for 2015 – this, despite the fact that the model is expected to get a facelift soon for other markets.

By Chris Bruce