Patrol Warrior and QASHQAI e-POWER coming in 2023, but they won’t be alone
Nissan is continuing its flow of fresh metal into its showrooms, promising four new models will go on sale within the next 18 months.
If you’ve started tallying up your mental list of what they might be, we can tell you two have already been confirmed – the locally-developed Patrol Warrior and the QASHQAI e-POWER hybrid.
The Warrior is expected to arrive in about September 2023, while Nissan is only saying the QASHQAI e-POWER is a 2023 launch, and we expect it on sale here in the last quarter.
But the other two? Well, the higher-performance Nissan Z NISMO seems a sure thing – not that Nissan is confirming it – but the fourth new arrival is a mystery.
It has been suggested to carsales it is a derivative of an existing model rather than something all-new such as the delayed Nissan Ariya battery-electric SUV, although Nissan Australia managing director Adam Paterson isn’t ruling that out.
“We’d love to have it [Ariya] here in the next 18 months, but if we are sitting here in 18 months there will be four new cars in showrooms and it may not be one of them,” said Paterson.
“But it could be one of them.”
Possible expansions to existing model lines could include cheaper versions of the new X-TRAIL e-POWER, which is currently only on offer here as an AWD (e-4ORCE) and as the two most expensive models in the range.
In Europe there are cheaper AWD X-TRAIL e-POWER models, front-wheel drive versions, as well as a mild-hybrid.
“At launch we see demand at the top of the [X-TRAIL] range but that doesn’t mean we are not looking at [cheaper X-TRAIL e-POWER options],” said Paterson.
Other potential model line additions could include the newly-launched hybrid version of the JUKE small SUV, or an expected e-POWER version of the Pathfinder, although that has yet to break cover globally and has been downplayed as a local sales chance previously.
The possibility of the new-generation Navara ute arriving within this timeframe is thought to be minimal.
The regular flow of new models is more good news for Nissan, which endured a horror COVID-19 period with an ageing model line-up, a supply shortage and slumping sales.
But the recent arrival of a new-generation QASHQAI and X-TRAIL – two of its biggest selling models – as well as the larger Pathfinder SUV and the flagship Z sports car have helped get things rolling again.
Paterson says there is every indication of improved supply and therefore sales in 2023. The perennial VFACTS top 10 seller finished 2022 in 12th.
He said the longest wait time was on the Z sports car, which extends out to six months. The limited-edition Z Proto is no longer available, although orders are still being filled.
“I think it [2023] is definitely a transformative year,” said Paterson. “At the end of last year we launched the majority of the new products and we’re adding powertrains to it and we’ll be adding a variant to Patrol as we’ve discussed.
“So that will put us back on a growth trajectory.”
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Keyword: More new Nissan models coming