LOOKING GOOD: Nissan Australia says X-Trail’s brand value, coupled with significant mechanical and equipment changes, and solid supply, will once more see it compete with the most popular models in its segment.
NISSAN Australia has thrown down the gauntlet to Mazda’s strong-selling CX-5, saying its newly launched X-Trail has both the modernity and, crucially, the supply capabilities to secure second place within the popular sub-$60K medium SUV segment.
Speaking to journalists assembled for the local launch of the X-Trail in Melbourne this week, Nissan X-Trail product manager Aleksander Pecanac said that assuming current production capabilities remain, it is likely the mid-size SUV will score a podium finish come next year.
“Pending supply, I definitely think we’re got what it takes to jump up to number two (in the segment),” he said.
“We’re very much in the hands of the production factory, but we’re also in a very good position to get the maximum production we have asked for. We’re a very profitable market in comparison to the rest of the world, and we are the biggest market for what we call our EMEA region.
“Add to that point that we are actually the fourth biggest market for X-Trail in the world, behind China, the United States and Japan, and obviously things look good for us from a global perspective.”
Mr Pecanac’s colleague, Nissan Australia general manager of product Nicholas Martin, said the arrival of new models – including the Z, Qashqai, X-Trail and Pathfinder – coupled with strong customer orders will see the X-Trail parked in up to 2500 Aussie driveways by early 2023.
“We have over 5000 customer orders for our brand-new SUVs, including over 1700 Qashqai, 2500 X-Trail and 1100 Pathfinder orders, and they will all be on sale very, very soon,” he said.
“Orders are the new normal in the auto industry, with COVID and supply chain challenges continuing to impact the supply of vehicles globally.
“But, based on these orders (and after the initial batch of vehicles are delivered), we expect customers will wait somewhere between two to three months for their X-Trail to be delivered.”
The wait time is one of the shortest for a new mid-size SUV in Australia, and significantly faster than some Toyota RAV4 variants, which blew out to as long as 10 months towards the end of 2021.
Nissan’s ageing third-generation X-Trail had struggled to keep pace with stalwart rivals including the Mazda CX-5 and Toyota RAV4 but will now offer competitive equipment and pricing, which Mr Pecanac said will return the model to its previously held place at the top of the medium SUV sales ladder.
“There is significant opportunity in the medium SUV segment. It is forecast to grow 14 per cent to 2026 to over 174,000 units annually. For us, that means the X-Trail will be the second most-popular (Nissan) model behind Navara,” he explained.
Initially, Mr Pecanac predicted the higher-grade Ti and new Ti-L will lead the X-Trail charge with the mid-tier ST-L to provide the bulk of model sales from 2023 onward.
He also estimates the hybridised X-Trail range, available from next year, will grow sales once more, helping to secure the model’s standing in the market.
“For year one, we’ve forecast the split to be roughly 15 per cent, and as we move through the life cycle, we think that will move to become upwards of 20 to 25 per cent,” he said.
“Of course, that will all change if the government brings in their emissions standards, and if so, we’ll pivot and adjust our sales mix accordingly.
“I think it’s also fair to say that as we’ve never offered a hybrid X-Trail before, that these are just predictions, and customer demand may definitely push that out, and of course we’d like to be proven wrong.”
To the end of October 2022, and according to figures supplied by the FCAI, Nissan sold just 6534 examples of its outgoing T32-series X-Trail.
The numbers place the X-Trail well short of rivals including the Toyota RAV4 (30,370 sold), Mazda CX-5 (23,476) and twin-under-the-skin Mitsubishi Outlander (15,619), as well as the Kia Sportage (15,497) and Hyundai Tucson (14,493).
Nissan’s superseded X-Trail was also outsold by the MG HS (9097), Subaru Forester (7836) and Honda CR-V (6835), seeing it rank ninth in its segment overall.
The all-new T33-series Nissan X-Trail goes on sale in Australia from this month.
The four-variant range is offered in two- and all-wheel drive configurations and with the choice of five- or seven seats. It is priced from $36,750 plus on-road costs in ST form, with the top-tier X-Trail Ti-L starting at $52,990 plus ORCs.
Visit GoAuto again soon for our local launch review of the all-new Nissan X-Trail.
Keyword: Nissan confident of X-Trail success