Australian Design Rules are delaying new models, says Nissan

Nissan has again called on the Australian government to end the excessive bureaucratic red tape that it says is currently delaying the local release of its most affordable hybrids and next-generation EVs.

Commenting on the federal government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES), Nissan’s chief planning officer for Oceania, François Bailly, said the emissions legislation that comes into effect for all new cars, SUVs and light commercials in 2025 took the Japanese car-maker “by surprise” and gives it little time to respond because of the drawn-out process to import a car Down Under.

Claiming it currently takes more than 45 weeks for a new vehicle to be homologated for Australian roads, Bailly called on help from legislators to “compress” the amount of time it takes to import its hybrids and EVs so that Nissan can react to the new NVES by fast-tracking its cleanest and greenest models.

Speaking to journalists at Nissan’s Sunderland plant in the UK, the Nissan senior VP said: “The transition [to NVES] really caught us by surprise. We owe [it to] our customers to bring our safe, affordable and clean cars.”

Bailly said Australia’s first new-vehicle emissions regulations would increase the likelihood of Nissan importing low-emissions vehicles like the mild-hybrid QASHQAI available in Europe, the hybrid version of the pint-size JUKE and more models fitted with its advanced e-POWER hybrid powertrain.

“It took six years to introduce CAFE [corporate average fuel consumption legislation] in Europe. In Australia it’s much faster.”

Bailly said that, on average in most cases, it takes almost a year to release a new model in the Australian market and he suggested that for Nissan to remain competitive it needs a nimbler approach to vehicle homologation, without which the federal government is artificially reducing its offering to customers.

The local release of Nissan’s first electric SUV, the Ariya, has faced extended delays while Nissan explores costly engineering solutions for the top-tether child seat anchors that are required in Australia but not the US, Europe or Japan.

“For me what is difficult is you have the tailoring for the child seat, but I think more importantly you have the time for homologation for a car that already exists in Europe and in Japan. It still takes about 45 weeks to be homologated to Australia,” said Bailly.

“When you put that against the CAFE [NVES] regulation coming, 45 weeks is really, really long.

“If a car is homologated let’s say in Europe, which is a very safe market, can we reduce the time? There’s no value for the customer, so can we compress that? That’s what I would debate or challenge.”

Bailly also called for more subsidies or incentives to fuel the demand for its future EVs, such as the 2025 LEAF that has already been scheduled for launch next year.

The next-generation LEAF will transition from being a small hatch to a high-riding SUV that Bailly said will offer “something fresh” alongside the growing number of small and mid-size electric SUVs coming to market.

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