Nissan X-Trail PHEV on the horizon?

Will Nissan Australia launch a PHEV or plug-in hybrid version of the X-TRAIL to take on the upcoming next-generation Toyota RAV4 PHEV?

The speculation comes as Nissan prepares to launch a PHEV version of the Nissan Rogue – the X-TRAIL’s American sibling – powered by technology borrowed from Alliance partner Mitsubishi’s successful Outlander PHEV, which is about to be upgraded in Australia with a localised suspension tune, more tech and tweaked exterior styling.

The upcoming Nissan Rogue PHEV is tipped to pack a frugal 2.4-litre petrol engine paired with dual e-motors and a 20kWh lithium-ion battery, delivering a combined 185kW/450Nm of grunt – with potential for an even heftier 225kW output down the track.

But when pressed about bringing similar electrified tech to Australian shores, Nissan Oceania Managing Director Andrew Humberstone played his cards close to his chest.

“At the moment, it is specific to the US. Again, in the last two, three months, we’ve had a lot of things change,” Humberstone said, pointing to both the brand’s attempted merger with Honda and America’s targeted tariffs that could threaten Japanese automakers.

The executive admitted that global economic turbulence has forced Nissan to dramatically reassess its product planning timeline.

“What we may have been planning versus what we might be planning now may be very different, simply because we have to respond and be very agile to global economics and global exchange rates and tariffs,” he explained.

“So it’s difficult to give you an answer that far down the line on a product like that,” he said of the X-TRAIL PHEV.

If a plug-in X-TRAIL hybrid does eventually materialise locally, it would slot alongside the existing X-TRAIL e-POWER plugless hybrid variant, giving Nissan a comprehensive electrified SUV line-up, as the next-gen Toyota RAV4 will offer in 2026.

Humberstone revealed the challenge of timing hybrid launches correctly, drawing on European market experience to illustrate the complexity.

“If you look at Europe, I took a lot of experience in the UK from this, and if you look at that 10 years on they’re still not ready. So it’s a difficult one to navigate, because timing is everything, bringing in the right products at the right time,” he said.

The brand is betting big on its e-POWER technology – which Humberstone candidly admitted suffers from branding confusion.

“We’ve got e-POWER technology, which we call ‘hybrid reinvented’, [which is] very frustrating from a marketing point of view because I wish we just called it hybrid,” he said.

“It was vetoed a million years ago. But it was vetoed until they realised that hybrid is actually almost the name of the segment. So you can’t just say you’re not a hybrid. It’s the damn name of the segment!”

Despite the uncertainty, Humberstone said Nissan’s product pipeline remains robust, with the brand already achieving “nearly 70 per cent exposure to the TIV [total industry volume] in terms of our product range.”

“Obviously, we’re looking at optimising on new product for the market,” he added. “We’ve got lots coming this year and next year. Beyond that, we’re looking at a number of key products.

“There’s lots coming and we’re very excited about that and I spend a lot of my time in those discussions. Again, Ivan Espinosa [Nissan CEO] is a product guy, Guillaume Cartier [regional boss for AMIEO, or Africa, Middle East, India, Europe and Oceania] is really passionate about the market and we’re having lots of conversations about ‘And what’s next?’”

Nissan Australia’s most senior executive emphasised that future product decisions will hinge on market analysis and production stability.

“What we’re looking at is, where do we see the market going? Where do we see the opportunities? Where do we see the most stable production bases to bring [in vehicles] from?”

While an X-TRAIL PHEV remains unconfirmed for Australia, Humberstone’s reluctance to rule it out suggests the electrified SUV could eventually join Nissan’s local line-up – assuming global trade winds blow in the right direction.

Join the conversation at our Facebook page
Or email us at editor@carsales.com.au