Nissan reportedly plans to scrap the Versa. It’s not only the cheapest vehicle in the automaker’s line-up but the lowest-priced model offered in the U.S., period. The Trump tariffs are one of the key reasons for this decision, reports Headlight.News.
Nissan Versa sales have risen this year – but could collapse due to tariff price hikes.
With prices running at record levels, buying a new vehicle is beyond the reach of millions of Americans. And the list of options is getting smaller. Nissan reportedly plans to drop the Versa at the end of this year, one of the few models still available for less than $20,000.
The little sedan hasn’t fared well in the market lately, but Nissan likely would have seen demand shrink even more due to the tariffs Pres. Donald Trump has placed on imports autos and auto parts, as well as tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.
As Headlight.News reports, even more entry models could soon vanish from U.S. showrooms.
Vanishing Versa
A look inside the 2025 Nissan Versa.
Now in its 20th year, the Nissan Versa is part of a vanishing breed: new vehicles starting at less than $20,000. Equipped with a 5-speed manual, the little sedan can be purchased for as little as $17,190 before $1,140 in delivery fees.
Even the high-end SR model remains one of the most affordable new vehicles in U.S. showrooms, at $21,190 plus delivery fees.
The Versa with a 5-speed stick is the lowest-priced model available in the U.S. right now, what with Mitsubishi ending the run of the $16,195 Mirage in 2024.
Why is it going away?
Pres. Donald Trump’s tariffs are expected to add thousands of dollars to the price of a typical vehicle.
According to a report by Automotive News, Nissan will kill off Versa this year. Several factors take blame.
For one thing, Versa has been hurt by the ongoing shift from sedans and coupes to SUVs and crossovers. Nissan did manage to sell 29,303 last year, up from 20,163 in 2023, but even with another big jump during the first four months of 2025, that’s still not a sustainable number for a vehicle with miniscule profit margins.
Sealing Versa’s fate. there’s a strong likelihood Versa’s base price would have to go up were Nissan to continue production – all but certainly impacting demand. One of three products assembled at the Nissan plant in Aguascalientes, Mexico, Versa would face new tariffs under the Trump trade sanctions targeting both imported autos and auto parts, as well as tariffs on imported steel and aluminum the president said last week he’s ready to double to 50%.
More Nissan News
- Trump Tariffs Could Kill Entry Auto Market
- Nissan Leaf Set to Return in Entirely New Form
- Nissan Names “Real Car Guy” as New CEO
End of the economy model?
Ironically, sales of the Nissan Versa were up sharply this year.
Like its competitors, Nissan has been struggling to figure out exactly how hard it will be hit by the Trump tariffs – a challenge made harder by the repeated delays and revisions the president has ordered since he announced his “Liberation Day” trade sanctions in March. The latest move, announced last week, would double tariffs on imported aluminum and steel, to 50%, potentially adding hundreds of dollars to the production cost of new models.
Like many manufacturers, Nissan has suggested it may absorb some of the tariff costs – on some products – to remain competitive. But it wouldn’t take much to damage sales at the low end of the market.
Even something as small as “a 1% increase (in prices) could take away 10% of the market” for affordable vehicles, said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist at Cox Automotive, during a meeting of the Automotive Press Association in May. Of the 20 models in entry segments, he added, “I expect less than half (will) exist if the tariffs become permanent.”
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