Auto-Asia Sept 1,2002:
"The company always has high hopes but didn’t expect to shift so many Z cars so quickly in the domestic market, and waiting lists could soon stretch to the end of the year. That could mean supply shortfalls in export markets as well, notably the US where some 8,000 advance orders have been taken already. Nissan had only planned to sell 42,000 Z cars worldwide each year.
Some 95% of customers in Japan are male, with the two largest age brackets being 30-39 and 45-55. The most popular option is the mid-range model with leather seats, priced at Y3.3 million (US$27,965).

Given traffic congestion problems in Japan and the stop-start nature of urban driving, it’s no surprise that more than half of the cars ordered so far have automatic transmissions."

Are there really delays?
Remember that production is limited,
by current production capacity limitations,
due to fewer plants/lines now available!
A change in priorities/allocations?
The politics of NML.
18,000 is looking like the correct number after all,
For the US in model year '03.

 

It is looking like it is a good thing we have preorded our 350Zs for sure. Thanks for the update RXO.

 

Does this mean pre-orders will be into late December? We already know that post preorders will not be here until December.

 

How does this affect the pro-order crowd?

Seems like the 350 will be a bit more exclusive than we thouhgt (for model year 03 anyway).

 

18000-20000 is not that small of a number, considering the niche market sports cars have. These cars do not sell the way Civics and Accords do. Take a look at the RSX as a comparison. Honda sold 19000 units in one year. Is that a limited production car? Nope. Some people had trouble buying the car at first, because the initial demand was high for the Type-S, but go to any Acura dealer today and they'll eagerly give you the Type-S for a few hundred over invoice.

And don't forget that the RSX is much more practical, because it's a 2+2, and it's got lots of trunk space. Therefore, it's more appealing to a broader market. The Z is not appealing to anyone with a family, so the only people who will buy them are singles, childless couples, retired couples, or people with enough money to afford multiple cars. That is a relatively small market.

 

Nice to see you posting again Rx0! I thought we'd lost ya!

 

But the public spin put forth by NNA to date is that 30,000+ are destined for the US this model year.

 

I also heard that number from somewhere (perhaps on this forum?). But if your original article's # is true, 30k here doesn't sound likely. I know this car was designed with the US market in mind, but 12k for the rest of the world seems to be a bit low. I've heard that they've already sold roughly 4000 in Japan, so that only leaves 8000 available to the rest of the world for 2003? Something's not adding up.

But all I know is that they need to ship them faster, so I can hurry up and get mine!

 

sooooo......is RxO saying that nissan will only ship 19,000 because of limited production. Maybe then they would be in more demand? I dont know

 

Like I posted before.. the Z in Japan has been a big hit beyond anyone's expectations..

It was Nissan's plan to first introduce the Z in the US... followed by Japan -- and then Asia and onto Europe.

However, given the demand... the Nissan dealers in Japan are reportedly asking Nissan to open an additional production line.

I will be ordering the Z very soon.. so I will advise what my expected delivery date is.

 

THanks for the update RxO.

I got my Z on Friday...all I can say is that Nissan has taken a huge leap forward with this car. It is astonishing what it delivers at the price. I feel lucky every time I climb in, or even look at it. Thanks to you and everyone else at Nissan!