Nissan Oz vows to boost ute sales

After significant local engineering helped shape the Series 3 iteration of the current Nissan Navara dual-cab ute introduced earlier this year, it's time for the brand to deliver on increasing sales and market share in Australia's hotly contested 4x4 pick-up segment.

That was the sentiment shared by Nissan Australia managing director Stephen Lester at the recent launch of two new limited-edition Navara models, the Navara ST Black Edition and the Navara SL Silverline, in Margaret River, WA.

Following a somewhat faltering start to life for the latest D23 Navara in Australia, where criticism was levelled at the dual-cab models' rear suspension for being too soft for heavy towing and payload duties, local Nissan engineers stepped in to help address the issue.

When the D23 Navara took over from the previous D40 in 2015, Nissan broke from tradition by delivering dual-cab models with a five-link coil-sprung rear-end, instead of the standard leaf-spring arrangement found in almost all of its rivals.

The criticism resulted in an updated model with recalibrated rear suspension in 2017 but the issue persisted, prompting Nissan Australia's own engineers to develop a locally tuned solution featuring dual-rate rear springs, with extensive testing then carried out in typical Australian conditions.

The resulting Navara D23 Series 3 has been here since February, but sales of 4x4 Navaras remain down by 6.9 per cent to the end of August, compared to the same period in 2017.

Nissan's market share in the 4x4 ute segment is a fifth-placed 7.3 per cent, marginally behind the 7.4 per cent of Isuzu UTE's D-MAX and a far cry from the 24.3 per cent share the 4x4 Navara claimed back in 2007.

"We certainly have a job to do where share is concerned in the pickup/cab-chassis segments," Lester told motoring.com.au, adding that the launch of special-edition models like the ST Black Edition and SL Silverline are one way in which the brand is hoping to boost that share.

"The decline in market share is really reflective of the fact that the segments have gotten so much more competitive — the entrants into that segment over the last 10 years have increased dramatically," he added.

"So we have to do a better job, as I feel the team is doing from a product planning standpoint now, helping bring a better product to the Australian consumers, one that is fit for purpose and one that speaks to the aspirational desires of this consumer group."

Lester also pointed to Nissan's financing programs and "different sales offerings" as other strengths where the brand has a competitive edge over some of its rivals.

We asked how Nissan Australia will compete with the latest brace of high-performance entrants to the segment — like the new 200kW/580Nm Volkswagen Amarok, the upcoming Mercedes-Benz X 350d (190kW/550Nm) and Ford's Ranger Raptor (157kW/500Nm) — without a high-output or V6 Navara of its own.

Lester said the current 2.3-litre four-cylinder twin-turbo-diesel Navara (140kW/450Nm) was already in something of a 'sweet spot', in terms of performance and value.

"What I would say, since you brought up Ranger Raptor, is that we obviously compete very, very well in terms of power and performance capability with the current Navara, and we're really, really pleased with that."

Lester said that the process of addressing earlier D23 dual-cab iterations locally had been an immensely positive process, underlining the importance placed by Nissan Japan on the Australian ute market.

"I think most definitely [it does], in the sense that the LCV segment here and the pick-up/cab-chassis segment continues to be one of the most vital and important in the entire world, especially in the Navara segment itself," he said.

"As we go forward we've earned that credibility, and we have also seen the discerning tastes and requirements of Australians first-hand through this process, and have been able to transmit this back to global in an effective way.

"Now I think the view is that this can really genuinely help make the products better, and so they [Nissan Global] also then look back to us as being better resourced to help facilitate that — it's very much a 'quid pro quo' in that sense."

The local Nissan chief said that now the Navara Series 3 has been delivered, it's up to Nissan Australia to overcome the spectres of its past and effectively promote its virtues to the Australian public.

"Coming back to that Australian testing, we really saw benefit derived from the regimen we went through. We saw the engineers really address those things, so we're incredibly impressed with the package we've been delivered," said Lester.

"Now it's up to us to drive that performance through our retail network and to deliver that incredible value that the vehicle has for customers."

To that end, and with the arrival of the ST Black Edition and SL Silverline, Lester said the Navara’s best sales are yet to come.

"We are optimistic at this point that we will continue to see good performance out of Navara; I think we'll probably see some stronger performance out of the second half of the year than the first.

"It is a very competitive market; what we are really appreciative of is just how well improved the performance of the Series 3 is, meeting all the consumer needs that we've really asked for."

Although Nissan recently released up toughened-up sports version of the Navara, the N-Guard, at the Hannover show, we're yet to see the appearance of a Nissan 'Raptor Fighter' as mooted some months back by Nissan’s global LCV boss Ashwani Gupta.

"I love it when you quote him like that! [laughs]" said Lester.

"Yes he did say that, I'd agree, and there's no question we would support the company in a pursuit of that type of sport enhanced model as far as pick-up goes, both from a cosmetic as well as powerplant option.

"Of course we'd love to see further opportunities within that powerplant space. Is it required, or is it going to be a big volume driver? No, I would say we are in the sweet spot already of that, but the halo effect the ute segment offers to brands is undeniable in Australia, there's no question.

“Leveraging that I think does a lot for the Nissan brand and that's what we see as a key opportunity moving forward."

When pressed further for details of such a model, Lester remained tight-lipped.

"There's no specifics that I can comment on at this point."

A further move to help boost Nissan LCV sales in Australia would be the introduction of the Terra, the all-new Navara-based SUV released in selected Asian markets earlier this year,

"I've got lots of ideas, but unfortunately I can't share or speculate on those at the moment," said Lester.

"We're in the process of continuing to work with product planning at the global level and at the regional level to validate which cars we can bring into the market. Terra, as has been discussed before with Ashwani [Gupta], is no secret that we feel is going to be a fit.

"We're on board; we've got to figure out a way to make it happen."