Patrol and Navara absent as Nissan NEXT simplifies line-up

The future of iconic Nissan nameplates like Patrol and Navara is unclear with traditional heavy-duty 4x4s and pick-ups noticeably absent from the Nissan NEXT recovery plan announced this evening.

The plan outlined the steps the company will take between now and early 2024 to position itself for growth into the next decade.

In it, Nissan stated C (small) and D-segment (mid-size) vehicles, electric vehicles and sports cars would be its core products. With the exception of the US market, little mention was made in the plan of body-on-frame vehicles that are a mainstay for the brand Down Under.

There was also no clarity on Nissan’s role in the Australian marketplace where it seems likely now to play second fiddle to Mitsubishi under the Leader/Follower market mantra Nissan and its Alliance partners Renault and Mitsubishi announced on Wednesday evening.

The three-year Nissan NEXT plan calls for substantial costs cutting and production capacity reductions which will see its plants in Indonesia and Spain closed. Nissan is also targeting a reduction in model numbers from almost 70 to less than 55 globally by 2023.

It says it will concentrate on the above segments with particular focus on “globally competitive models”.

As part of its announcements, Nissan posted a $US6.2 billion loss for the Japanese fiscal year ending March 30, 2020.

It says it will leave the South Korean marketplace and may also leave other ASEAN markets.

The Japanese car-maker will “right-size” its operations or exit markets that do not have growth potential, global Nissan boss Makoto Uchida said.

The focus of the company will be China, Japan and North America, he stated.

The highlight of the Nissan NEXT announcement was arguably a video which closed proceedings. The star of the production was the next generation Z-car, tipped to be called the 400Z, which was teased along with other new models.