Nissan doubles Dualis line-up

Nissan Australia has confirmed it will add a Dualis 4x2 to its range later this year. The front-wheel drive crossover will join the 4x4 Dualis (pictured) launched in Australia last year but will target a new audience.

Nissan Australia boss Dan Thompson says the company wants the new Dualis to go up against traditional hatchbacks and small cars instead of the crossover segment. Thompson admits the new model will be extremely important for the brand as it fills a sizable hole in the current range.

"It's absolutely critical for us to get it right," Thompson says.

Nissan currently doesn't offer a model in the mid $20,000 range with the Tiida hatch topping out at $23,990 and the Dualis 4x4 starting at $28,990.

"It needs to be positioned against the hatches," he says. "That's where it needs to play and that's where it will play.

"The range will certainly sit in the mid twenties. It will be a fare distance away from where Ti sits in the high $30,000 range and competes with compact SUVs. The 4x2 will give us a mid-$20,000 presences that we don't have today."

Sales for the Dualis 4x4 have been below expectation but Thompson believes the introduction of the two-wheel drive variant will give the car the boost it needs. While he claims it's too early to say how much growth the new model will add he does admit it should be "significant."

"I think the range itself is limited as it is today, we only have the 4x4," he explains. "I think there was a lot of optimism over the car that at the end of the day didn't translate over to sales. That's where I think 4x2 will really deliver what we need. Overseas it's probably close to 70 per cent of sales, the 4x2 variants. We just didn't have the whole package coming into market."

If the 4x2 is a success then Thompson says further expansion of the Dualis range will follow. The most likely next addition would be the new diesel that was launched in Europe last week with a seven-seat option further down the track.

"We will look at diesel but our first priority is to get the 4x2 and get the Dualis nameplate established appropriately," he says. "The range and the opportunity with Dualis are quite significant to us. It's been a massive success for Nissan globally. Not only is it 4x2, it's diesel and there is a seven-seat option.

"We aren't at the moment, it's just launched in Europe, but down the road when we've got 4x2 in then we'll take a look at diesel. Diesel's probably much closer to reality than a seven-seat option but it's all about 4x2 first."

Expect the Dualis 4x2 to arrive in the fourth quarter this year.

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