New Nissan SUVs in hot demand

Early order numbers for a trio of new-generation SUVs has given Nissan Australia encouragement it will emerge from its current sales slump.

As of August 1, Nissan had received almost 1300 deposits for the new QASHQAI compact SUV, just over 1000 for the new X-TRAIL mid-sizer and almost 600 for the large Pathfinder.

Nissan Australia managing director Adam Paterson described the order numbers as a “good start”.

“These are customers who are willing to put down orders and dollars on cars that they have only seen digitally.

“To put down $50,000, $60,000 or $70,000 exclusively on spec reviews is quite encouraging.”

These numbers don’t take into account responses to the bulk of a national roadshow that is introducing the new SUVs to potential buyers around the country.

The tour started in Victoria in July and will visit much of the country by the end of September.

“We are getting triple-digit volume of groups and families coming out to Nissan dealerships to see the product we do have there,” Paterson said.

“The dealers are being quite successful in securing orders that have already been taken now that the customers can see the cars.

“And when the customers finally see the cars, be able to sit in them and see the size and content a little bit better, orders are going in.”

While all three models are due to roll into showrooms in coming months, sales of their predecessors have dried up, leaving Nissan, a perennial top-10 selling brand, languishing in the teens based on recent monthly sales figures.

The X-TRAIL and QASHQAI have been Nissan’s two biggest sellers in recent years. Overall, Nissan sales are down 36.4 per cent year-on-year, but Paterson remains optimistic.

“Obviously, we have volume aspirations to grow from where we are today,” he said. “But just delivering a volume number is not the only thing we are looking at to justify or to understand success for the company.

“Are we keeping customers happy? Do we have an order bank? Are we launching products that are engaging the customers to bring them out to showrooms?

“So yes, volume is one challenge but perhaps our mindset has changed [from when] chasing volume and share was the objective.”

Given the current global supply and logistics difficulties, Paterson was unwilling to reveal exact launch dates for any of the three new models, although they are expected to start flowing into customer hands before the end of 2022.

Potentially adding complications, the QASHQAI is built in the UK, the X-TRAIL in Japan and the Pathfinder in the USA.

“I don’t know when the world is going to return to normal,” said Paterson. “When you get the global supply chain so diversified, when there is an issue on one part of the world the impact is not just in that country, it is all around the world.”

Nor could Paterson say how much supply Nissan Australia can secure or what wait times on orders being placed now will be.

“It varies on which trim, colour, spec at which dealer in which part of the country you are because they have allocations they have provided to them,” Paterson said.

“It’s difficult to quote specifically… also that would mean I know exactly how many are coming or we have 100 per cent certainty on production volumes on go-forward months.

“But the minute I quote something we could have improved supply on a model here or there.

“To give you an exact timeframe is challenging right now.”

One key confirmation is pricing is going up substantially compared to the old generations, but based on feedback from the roadshow Paterson downplayed the impact that was having on buyer interest.

“The feedback so far is that while price is something customers are interested in, it has not dissuaded them from being interested in the product they are seeing,” he said.

Both the QASHQAI and X-TRAIL will come to Australia with orthodox petrol drivetrains and, later, new e-Power hybrid powertrains.

Paterson has confirmed to carsales that e-Power interest is high.

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