The Nissan Z’s made-to-order era is officially beginning. A forum post sharing what looks like a dealer presentation details the additions for the 2027 Nissan Z—chiefly the available manual transmission for the Nismo model, front-end redesign, and new Shinkai Green paint. But it also bulletins “scarce production ahead” and estimates that the average Nissan dealer will see just two to three cars for the upcoming year.
Back in November, former Nissan SVP Michael Soutter foreshadowed this, emphasizing to The Drive how important it is to produce only the vehicles customers are willing to buy because of the Z’s niche. “On this, if we get the color wrong, or we get the interior wrong, or we get the object package wrong, it’s just gonna sit there, and we end up putting extra [variable marketing expense] incentives [on them],” he said.
Looking back, this is precisely how Nissan was burned after building 2024 model-year Zs. Last year was an excellent time to buy, as my colleague Byron pointed out, because Nissan seemed to have produced too many cars for 2024 that sat on dealer lots, inevitably leading to solid discounts once the 2025s also hit showrooms.
That may explain how the coupe was up in sales every quarter of last year except for the final one. When all was said and done, Nissan moved 5,487 Zs in 2025, compared to 3,164 in 2024.
Of course, incentives boost volume at the expense of Nissan’s margins, and that appears to be exactly what the company is trying to avoid this time around, based on the material shared over at the Nissan Z Club community. “Tight production means these MY27 Zs will be limited,” the deck reads.
Whether buyers believe the Z justifies that exclusivity and the price that comes with it, only time will tell. The Drive has reached out to Nissan for comment and will update this story with whatever we learn.
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