NISSAN hopes for a greater yr in 2021 with an all-new Qashqai offering the muse for the just lately revamped Juke and subsequent yr’s Qashqai and X-Path.
Market share for the model has slipped this yr, attributed to COVID but in addition to a really aggressive group of rivals with a plethora of latest fashions. Nissan now instructions a 4.2 per cent market share to the top of November, down from 4.8 per cent on the identical time in 2019.
Wanting again to 2015, Nissan had a 5.7 per cent share in an period when Holden was an aggressive participant with an 8.9 per cent market share and 17 fashions to nibble at Nissan’s portfolio.
In that yr, Nissan additionally had 19 fashions together with 9 passenger vehicles with long-gone names like Pulsar, Tiida, Almira, Altima, Maxima and Micra.
It now has 10 fashions and three passenger vehicles – although the Leaf is technically the one household automotive as the opposite two, the 370Z and GT-R, are coupes.
The well being of the model depends on SUVs and utes, with prime sellers this yr to this point being the X-Path (12,469 gross sales), Navara 4×4 ute (8719) and Qashqai (6432).
The brand new Qashqai, right here within the second half of 2021, will undoubtedly be tasked with boosting gross sales and market share. It has a 7.5 per cent share within the small SUV sector, down from 12.1 per cent in the identical month final yr.
Its headwinds are new fashions from rival manufacturers launched up to now 18 months, together with the Kia Seltos (10 per cent market share in November); Mazda CX-30 (9.3 per cent), and Hyundai Kona (12.6 per cent).
It additionally takes on the grandfather ASX which, regardless of its 11 years within the enterprise, has the most important share within the sector at 14.4 per cent in November. That’s spectacular however an enormous dive on its 21.0 per cent stake in November 2019.
Subaru’s XV can be no contemporary bread, but holds 8.1 per cent in November (down from 10.5 per cent final yr), and Honda’s HR-V has 8.7 per cent with Toyota’s C-HR at 8.8 per cent.
There are 22 fashions within the small SUV sector through which the Qashqai competes and demand has saved the stock turning over with a variety of names now solely recollections.
Since 2015, misplaced gamers on this sector that got here up in opposition to the Qashqai embrace the Chinese language model Chery, Citroen C4, Ford EcoSport, Holden Trax, Hyundai ix35, Jeep Patriot and Renegade, Peugeot 2008, 3008 and 4008, Skoda Yeti and Suzuki S-Cross. Some have moved to a unique phase, such because the Volkswagen Tiguan shifting up a notch to the medium SUV phase.
Nissan additionally faces strife within the massive SUV sector with its growing old Pathfinder that now holds just one.2 per cent market share. Sellers moved 87 Pathfinders within the month of November, nicely down on the 234 models in the identical month final yr however attributed principally to the up to date mannequin succeeding a depleted inventory of previous automobiles.
Toyota’s Prado and Kluger maintain a close to 28 per cent share of this market phase however there’s additionally positive aspects this yr and this month from rivals together with the LDV D90 (107 gross sales in November, 608 for the yr and rising); Ford Everest on its second wind with 710 gross sales for November and 5409 for the yr because it farewells its sibling, the Endura; Kia Sorento with a brand new mannequin for 796 November gross sales; and the Mazda CX-8 and CX-9 seven-seaters with 503 and 743 November gross sales respectively, up 224.5 per cent and 38.6 per cent.
Nevertheless spy pictures have been floating round of an all-new Pathfinder, which is able to possible be revealed in some unspecified time in the future in 2021 and launched in Australia quickly after.
It’s much more arduous within the heavyweight upper-large SUV sector the place the petrol-only Patrol languishes alongside its solely sub-$100,000 rival, the domineering Toyota LandCruiser.
The Patrol, which has undergone an replace within the US which gained’t be translated right here, has 16.2 per cent of the market this yr primarily based on 2484 gross sales, up in opposition to the Land Cruiser’s 83.8 per cent stake and 12,843 gross sales.
This phase is definitely buoyant and experiences a 5.0 per cent improve year-to-date, which augers nicely for the Patrol sooner or later.
The evergreen X-Path is Nissan’s anchor, with nearly 12,500 gross sales to the top of November. For 2021, it’s squarer (original within the mould of the previous-generation X-Path), wider however shorter, powered by the identical 2.5-litre petrol 4 and with a CVT. It arrives late subsequent yr.
X-Path (initially alleged to imply “cross-trail” however sidelined by folks preferring to make use of the X-word) gross sales are down 31.5 per cent on inventory delays and the steamroller gross sales of Toyota’s RAV4.
The Toyota has a 25.4 per cent market share of the medium SUV phase at November 2020, up from 14 per cent for a similar 11 months in 2019 – an unbelievable efficiency given all exterior elements and one attributed in a big half by its hybrid model of the SUV.
By comparability, the X-Path has an 8.8 per cent market share for this yr, whereas one other rival, Mazda’s CX-5, lifted its stake by way of the yr to 14.5 per cent.
Nissan additionally has a variety of success with its restyled Juke SUV, selecting up 226 gross sales in November (up from 51 in November 2019) and 882 for the yr for an 86.9 per cent improve. The Leaf EV has not scored as nicely, promoting 314 for the yr, down 10.7 per cent.
The ute market could have had a brief burst of sunshine with the tax write-off that positively affected gross sales in Could and June and deliveries in July and August. The Nissan Navara utes slipped in gross sales with 4×4 down 11.1 per cent to 8719 gross sales for the yr whereas 4×2 recorded 1619 gross sales, down 37.2 per cent.
The opposite two Nissan-badged contributors, the 370Z and GT-R, remained on the low finish of the gross sales record, with 102 and 22 gross sales respectively to the top of November.
Nissan has stated it would launch an up to date GT-R and the 370Z substitute, the 400Z, on the finish of subsequent yr however that timeline will not be confirmed for Australia.
