Nissan spent a lot of time with an ageing line-up, but after overhauling its core SUV range in 2022 the brand is continuing its product onslaught well into 2023 and 2024.
The company’s local boss, Adam Paterson, recently confirmed with media that Nissan Australia is planning a further four new products over the next 18 months. While we know what half of these are so far, a couple are mysteries.
Already confirmed for a 2023 launch in Australia is the new Qashqai e-Power hybrid crossover, a critical model for the brand to take on the likes of the Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid and RAV4 Hybrid, as well as the Patrol Warrior 4×4 (late 2023).
The latter will be a locally developed variant with Melbourne’s Premcar that’s even more rugged than the existing LandCruiser 300 rival.
Beyond that though, it’s unclear what the other two launches will be into next year.
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Juke Hybrid -
Mysterious Z prototype
While the city-sized Juke crossover received some minor updates for the 2023 model year, it’s understood that Mr Paterson’s comments were not referring to the running changes that are hitting the Australian market now.
Further, it’s unclear whether the Juke Hybrid, recently revealed for the European and UK markets and “definitely something [Nissan Australia] is looking at” for a local introduction at some stage, is also part of these plans.
Looking elsewhere in the brand’s portfolio, the all-but-confirmed Nissan Z Nismo is tipped to be revealed at some point this year.
Given Australia’s thirst for high-performance cars (the standard car is already subject to 12-month wait times here) we’d expect the more focused version of the brand’s reborn icon to be a sure starter for our market – whenever its launch may be.
The company has already revealed a GT4 racing version with ‘Nismo’ branding, and it’s understood a road-going version will follow soon.
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Ariya -
Leaf
Meanwhile, there’s still no word on when we’ll see the Ariya electric SUV in Australia as it’s being prioritised for markets with strict emissions standards like Europe, the UK and the US; though last time we checked Mr Paterson said it’s more a matter of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’.
Further, the Navara ute is well towards the end of its life at this point, though there doesn’t appear to be much in the pipeline before the next-generation model – which will have close ties to the next Mitsubishi Triton – is revealed.
Nissan also recently launched the Navara SL Warrior in 2022, a more budget-friendly off-road version to sit below the existing Pro-4X Warrior.
It could mean there’s another update in store for the venerable Leaf EV, which isn’t due to be replaced until around 2025. Local models currently miss out on the ProPILOT semi-autonomous tech suite available overseas, so perhaps we could see a tech bump in the coming 12 months to see out this generation.
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Note -
Kicks
Very, very unlikely candidates are the Nissan Note city hatch and the Kicks crossover, both of which offer e-Power hybrid versions and are sold in right-hand drive for the Japanese market. They’d complement the recently launched X-Trail e-Power and the upcoming Qashqai e-Power.
The Nissan Note is one of Japan’s top-selling cars, largely off the back of the e-Power version, while the Kicks is the sole compact SUV option for the brand in markets like Japan and the US in place of the UK-produced Juke.
Both vehicles have previously been confirmed as “not for Australia”, but who knows if Nissan Australia has changed its mind.
Stay tuned to CarExpert for the latest, and let us know what you think Nissan is planning to launch Down Under in the comments below.
