Nissan is gearing up for a major change in how its iconic Z sports car reaches buyers. At the 2025 Los Angeles Auto Show, senior vice president Michael Soutter made it clear: the Z is heading toward a Porsche-style build-to-order model. And it’s not a maybe, this is the direction the company is preparing for.
Why Nissan Is Rewriting the Z Playbook
Here’s the thing. The Z isn’t a mass-market car. It’s a niche performance machine with buyers who care about specifics: paint, trim, packages, the works. With low-volume nameplates, guessing what will sell can backfire. Soutter explained that even one wrong color choice can leave a Z gathering dust on a dealer lot and force Nissan to pile on incentives to move it.
Larger models like the Rogue or Pathfinder allow Nissan to predict demand with far more confidence. The Z doesn’t. That’s why the brand wants a pull-based system where cars are built based on demand rather than sitting in dealer inventory. Dealers can still order cars proactively, but now they’ll order what they know they can move, not what Nissan hopes they will.
Why Nissan Didn’t Do This From Day One
Asked why the strategy wasn’t baked into the Z’s 2023 relaunch, Soutter didn’t sugarcoat it. Hindsight is easy. Nissan rolled out the model with a conventional approach, and the market corrected course. Now, the company sees that aligning production with demand makes more sense for a car where each configuration matters.
Pricing Flexibility? Not Anytime Soon
Some might wonder: why not just cut the Z’s price and boost traffic the old-fashioned way? Soutter shut that down quickly. Nissan’s current cost structure is simply too heavy. The company is working on reducing overhead by downsizing operations, closing plants, and restructuring globally. Until fixed costs fall, the price per unit stays high—and the brand can’t afford a discount strategy for the Z.
On top of that, tariffs are tightening margins further. As Soutter put it, there’s very little pricing freedom right now. Price cuts may be “an option” eventually, but only once the company reaches its cost-alignment “north star.”
Is the Z’s Future Secure? Mostly, Yes
High-end halo models like the GT-R don’t rely on big sales to justify their existence, thanks to their brand-building power and fat margins. Could the Z operate the same way? Partially. Volume still matters, Soutter said, but the Z also carries historical weight and cultural value for Nissan.
The good news is Nissan’s leadership, starting with the CEO, is still passionate about both the Z and GT-R. That enthusiasm, combined with their role as performance halos, keeps them safe even as the company restructures.
The Bottom Line
The Z isn’t going anywhere. But how you buy one is about to change. Build-to-order is coming, dealer-lot bargains are fading, and Nissan is reshaping the sports car’s future in a way that prioritizes precision over guesswork. Buyers who want exactly what they want? They’re about to win big. Buyers waiting for fire-sale deals? That era is ending.
