Nissan South Africa recently confirmed that the popular NP200 is scheduled to end production in March 2024 at the end of its extended lifecycle.
The immediate replacement for the NP200 was already chosen and was meant to be a model built on a Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance platform in Russia for export to our market.
However, Nissan South Africa has now revealed that due to the heavy sanctions placed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the replacement model is no longer able to be introduced to South Africa.
“The immediate replacement model for NP200 was planned to be built on an Alliance-shared platform in Russia. However, the geopolitical situation in Russia meant this model was no longer viable due to significantly reduced volumes,” said the subsidiary.
“In line with our African strategy, securing a second model for production in South Africa is a priority and a study into an alternative vehicle is already progressing.”
Until the local arm of Nissan has more clarity on its future plans for local production, its Rosslyn, Pretoria plant – which is responsible for producing both the Navara and NP200 – will be operating at reduced production volumes to maintain its long-term competitiveness and be ready to secure future opportunities.
“Nissan South Africa has now entered into a formal consultation phase to restructure the business, which could result in a reduction in the number of employees across the company,” it said.
“During the consultation phase, we will work with our employees, their representatives, and our partners to minimise the impact on our people and investigate other opportunities for them and for the business to ensure a sustainable future for the brand in South Africa.”
The NP200 was responsible for 997 (47%) of Nissan’s 2,130 sales in the country this past September, with the removal of the bakkie from the automaker’s local catalogue undoubtedly dealing a big blow to its revenue stream.
What could’ve been
While it wasn’t confirmed, Nissan was widely expected to replace the NP200 with a rebadged version of the upcoming Renault Oroch, which itself is anticipated to land in South Africa in 2024.
The Oroch is based on the popular Duster crossover with its looks inspired by the first-generation Duster while the cabin was updated in 2022 to be more akin to the second-generation version.
The bakkie has long been available in select African and Latin American markets in single and double-cab body styles, deriving power from a 1.3-litre, turbo-petrol drivetrain.
Now, however, it’s all but fully certain that a Nissan-badged Oroch with a different name won’t be making it to South African roads, with no other vehicle in the RNM Alliance currently being able to take up its place.
Keyword: Russia to blame for delay in Nissan NP200 replacement in South Africa