McLEAN, Va. -

As final March sales numbers roll in, there’s a new Japanese midsize car on top.

NADA’s Jonathan Banks reported that Nissan “narrowly” edged out both Toyota and Honda for the number one midsize car sales spot.

In Banks’ latest post on the NADA Used Car & Truck Blog, he reported Nissan Altima’s total sales numbers for March came in at 37,763, beating out the Toyota Camry by just 115 units.

Honda came in third, selling 36,449 units of their recently redesigned Accord.

But although the Altima beat out the competition in March, Banks explained that total year-to-date sales still favor the Camry by more than 12,000 units.

“Both the Accord and Altima are in tight contention for the number two spot, and if Nissan manages to maintain their recent sales momentum, there’s no reason to doubt they should be able to secure second place,” Banks explained.

What gave Altima the boost it needed this past month?

“The answer is twofold, the first element being an upward tick in incentive spending over the first quarter of this year which has stirred consumer activity. But the primary culprit behind the sales increase is most likely Nissan's heavy reliance on rental fleet sales,” Banks said.

Banks explained that nearly every single manufacturer in the midsize car segment has increased spending.

“If one company caves and ramps up incentives, all will follow to stay competitive; this is most likely what we’re seeing here,” he added.

As for rental fleet penetration, the Altima “consistently ranks toward the top of its competitive set,” Banks reported.

Interestingly, the blog post reads that last year, 20 percent of all new Altima sales went straight into rental fleet duty.

“It’s no secret that heavy fleet penetration usually has corrosive effects on overall vehicle values, and manufacturers must judiciously allocate supply to rental fleets as a result. Let’s face it, nobody wants to drive a car that’s stigmatized as a rental car,” Banks said. “So on the surface while Nissan can claim overall sales victory for March, it won’t come without a cost.”

To see the full blog post, click here.