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NEWS
Nissan's "sedan renaissance" closes the gap
But importer is backing away from 'Number One' goal in AustraliaNissan's Australian product portfolio will shortly achieve a breadth of diversity not matched since the company ceased to build cars here in the early 1990s.
After Nissan closed its Clayton plant it maintained a low-volume presence in the medium car segment with the imported (U13) Bluebird for four years, but hasn't had a sedan to fill the void between small car (Pulsar/Tiida) and large car (Maxima) since 1997.
That is changing, however, with the local introduction of the new Altima this year. It will form the ceiling for what Peter Clissold, Nissan's Executive General Manager of Marketing calls a "sedan renaissance" – a three-box product line-up spanning three volume-selling segments, from light (Almera) to medium (Altima), and encompassing the small segment Pulsar sedan (and the LEAF EV).
"Almera is the bookend of that sedan renaissance," Mr Clissold told local journalists present for the launch of the new Patrol. He also confirmed that the Altima will be a medium segment car as far as VFACTS number crunching is concerned. That places it in direct competition with the Toyota Camry and the new Mazda6. It also means the end of a Nissan entry in the large car segment, since the Altima effectively replaces the larger Maxima.
"Altima's the future," Mr Clissold said, when pressed about the Maxima. It's Nissan's hope that a car of unrealised potential in the large car segment will be succeeded by a competitive car in the medium segment. In keeping with other smaller models in Nissan's local range, the Altima will be a four-door sedan – and a sedan only. The coupe model available in North America won't be seen here.
"Our plans right now are just the sedan," Mr Clissold declared, before observing that Nissan would like to bring in the Altima at a price point that is quite low for a mid-sized family car in the modern era.
"$30,000 is the 'sweet spot'," he said, "but it's too early to discuss pricing."
Despite the growing strength and marketplace relevance of the Nissan product range locally, Mr Clissold was more cautious about the goal of becoming Australia's best selling full-line importer – a goal set by former MD, Dan Thompson.
"We're aiming to grow," Mr Clissold answered, but with a clear-cut qualifier.
"We're not going to put pegs in the ground to be number one," he said.
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Written byKen Gratton
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