By Jack Lindt & John Lindt
New car dealership Coast Nissan on Los Osos Valley Rd has closed its operation as of this weekend according to the dealer website. Sales members at the Porsche dealership next door say the building is being remodeled to accommodate pre-owned Porsche cars and other high-end sports cars and exostics “including some Ferraris”.
Owned by the Cardinale Automotive Group, the company has 26 dealerships in the West including BMW of SLO on San Joaquin St and the Porsche dealership on LOVR. Cardinale posted on the Coast Nissan website that warranty work could be directed to other Cardinale dealerships in SLO. But local Nissan owners who want the car maker to service their vehicle will now have to travel to San Maria.The San Luis Obispo Nissan closure comes as a number if other West Coast Nissan dealerships shut down including North Bay Nissan in Petaluma, CA last summer, Vallejo Nissan converted into a Hyundai location, Nissan of Sacramento who closed in late 2025, Town Nissan (East Wenatchee, WA) who closed in March 2026 and Nissan of San Juan Capistrano who closed with inventory and customer service transitioned to Nissan of Irvine according to its website.
Like other foreign-made imports Nissan has been hit by President Trump’s tariffs including many Nissan cars made in Mexico. A new report says tariffs on Mexico-made entry-level vehicles increase per-car costs by $2,500–$3,000.
Now Nissan is pressing U.S. officials to ease tariffs on vehicles made in Mexico, citing the need to keep entry-level models affordable as average new car prices hover near record highs.Nissan’s line-up of cars and trucks have faced challenges of tariffs,higher costs and tough competition not just here but overseas from Chinese exports. Most recently the company reported a 7.5% decrease in total U.S. sales for Q1 2026. Car sales were way down but Nissan truck lines improved their sales. In the most recent quarter in California, Nissan had a 4% market share while Toyota enjoyed an 18% share according to the California New Dealers Assn.
Last year
Nissan Motor Co. reported a net loss of $4.5 billion for the fiscal year ending March 2025. To address this crisis, the company is cutting 15% of its global workforce (approx. 20,000 jobs) and closing seven manufacturing plants, according to The Japan Times and Automotive News. The company hopes to return to profitability by fiscal year 2026.
It’s not just this Japanese car maker that is hitting the brakes. Reports say all U.S. auto sales for March 2026 are projected at roughly 1.37 million units, a sharp drop from the 1.79 million units sold in March 2025. Now high gas prices won’t help.