Newer range sees Nissan sales stabilise

NISSAN Australia has this week launched its off-road-ready Patrol Warrior to market, the Premcar enhanced four-wheel drive joining Navara PRO-4X and SL Warrior variants to take to three the number of ‘Warrior Enhanced’ offerings available locally.

Interestingly – and despite the age of the Navara and Patrol products – Nissan Australia managing director, Adam Paterson, says the Warrior-isation of the duo is helping to prop-up sales against newer competitors, as is the increased availability of so-called ‘core’ models, like the mid-sized X-Trail SUV.

“There have been a lot of questions asked about the ranking and the volume of the (Nissan) brand, and a lot of the challengers we have had over the course of the last two years have been supply and not demand based,” he said.

“As we have started to correct some of those supply challenges we faced, we are really starting to show the potential of the Nissan brand in Australia.

“In August, we were the fastest growing brand in the market (with) the largest market share gain on a year-on-year basis, and we are on track for three consecutive quarters of growth.”

Mr Paterson said near range-wide growth was returning Nissan to form Down Under, adding that the improved supply of core products – in addition to market-specific Warrior offerings – was behind the recent uptick in sales.

“We’re growing across almost the entire range. Some of the more impressive volume growth we are seeing is coming from our core products, and the first one of those I’d like to comment on is X-Trail,” he continued.

“In August, from a VFACTS perspective, we reported 1533 sales, and that is the most for X-Trail since May of 2021. We captured the largest year-on-year volume growth in the (Medium SUV) segment on both a percentage and an absolute number basis.

“It is really positive news for X-Trail as we move it back to where it needs to be in the segment.”

Indeed, the popularity of the Nissan X-Trail is evident in VFACTS sales data, with August sales of 1533 units (or 8.7 market share points) a significant increase of the 516 units sold in August 2022.

Year-to-date sales of the X-Trail now sit at 7566 units, placing the model in eighth place in the hotly contested Medium SUV under $60K category.

“The other extremely positive piece of news is the sales volume and momentum with Patrol. August’s 1032 units was the best Patrol month recorded in Australia since June of 2005, and obviously the best-ever Y62 (series) month,” he said.

“We still have a fairly substantial order bank that we are working on for the non-converted Y62-series Patrol, which shows demand is really still there. That’s why it is a great time to be launching the Patrol Warrior.”

First launched in 2010, the Y62-series Patrol was facelifted in 2014 and again in 2019 to rival full-size four-wheel drive models such as the Land Rover Discovery, now-defunct Mitsubishi Pajero and popular Toyota LandCruiser.

As of the end of August, the Nissan Patrol had sold 4374 units giving it a 31.2 per cent slice of the Upper Large SUV under $120K segment.

Toyota’s 300 Series LandCruiser tops the market with 9412 YTD sales (and 67.0 market share points), the Japanese duo well ahead of the only other competitor in the segment, the Land Rover Discovery (with 253 units sales and a 1.8 per cent market segment share).

Visit GoAuto again soon for our local launch review of the 2023 Nissan Patrol Warrior.