Nissan's product portfolio will soon encompass two new SUVs for Africa. Image: Charl Bosch
Amidst a reduction in its vehicle line-up over the last 12 to 18 months, Nissan has confirmed it will be introducing three new products to the African continents between 2025 and 2026.
Almost certain to include to South Africa, where the brand’s current range comprise the Magnite, X-Trail, the now previous generation Patrol, NV350 and the locally made Navara, the new models will be a pair of SUVs also bound for India and the Middle East.
At the same time, an expansion of the traditional B-segment will also happen, although the actual product remains unknown apart from its confirmed utilisation of an internal combustion engine rather than electrification.
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“Nissan has a 10% market share in Africa and a bit like India and the Middle East, we have a big footprint. We have two plants, one in Egypt and one in South Africa, and we hope the market will grow as it can get volatile,” Nissan’s Chairperson for Africa, Middle East, India, Europe and Oceania, Guillaume Cartier, told the media at a roundtable discussion on the side-lines of the new Patrol’s launch in Abu Dhabi last week.
“In Africa, we will be unveiling products from India and on top of that, we have the readiness to have a bridge [in engines] between ICE and EVs called e-Power. [Thus], we will be launching e-Power in Africa and South Africa and we are looking at how the customer [will welcome it] as part of this strategy.
Despite not divulging in-depth details, the confirmation of India, where production of the Magnite takes place, seemingly suggests the models in question as being the incoming pair of rebadged Renault and Dacia-rebadged products teased in April.
An expansion of Nissan’s Arc product plan unveiled back in March, the pair will be made at the Chennai plant Cartier said has the capacity to produce 500 000 units a year as it also doubles up as one of the marque’s biggest facilities outside Japan.
Besides the Magnite, no other model is produced at the plant as Nissan India’s only other product, the X-Trail, is imported from Japan.
“We use India for India but also for exports. The new SUVs will be exported to the Middle East and Africa between 2025 and 2026,” Cartier said in reference to Nissan’s plans to introduce five SUVs in the former markets, and three in the latter.
Outwardly also related to the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance’s “leader-follower” strategy introduced soon after the pandemic, the incoming SUVs, as per the teaser image revealed by Nissan India, will be spun-off of the Renault/Dacia Duster and the Bigster reported last week as being set for reveal at the Paris Motor Show next month.
In the case of South Africa, both, if offered, will fill the gap between the Magnite and X-Trail following the surprise discontinuation of the Qashqai in June.
“For now, Nissan confirms the discontinuation of the current Qashqai model in South Africa. This discontinuation will not impact the aftersales services currently provided to our customers,” Nissan South Africa said in a statement to cars.co.za.
“Nissan South Africa is currently evaluating opportunities for new products and an updated product plan will be shared in due course. Nissan would like to assure its customers and stakeholders that it remains committed to South Africa”.
Mostly likely due to costs as the once exceedingly popular Sunderland-built Qashqai had become pricey with a starting price of R568 200 at the time of its withdrawal, opting for the Indian models as opposed to bringing the facelift Qashqai to market, will come with a significant price decrease as a means of the straddling the sizable gap between the Magnite and the X-Trail.
As it stands, pricing for the former ranges from R240 000 to R377 800, while the three-model X-Trail line-up carries a price tag of between R687 900 and R812 900.
At the same time, the introduction of the long overdue e-Power system remains to be divulged as it had originally slated to become available in the Qashqai in early-2023.
Now seemingly heading for the X-Trail, the setup combines a three-cylinder 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol with an electric motor and battery pack.
In a turnaround though, the blown three-pot solely serves as a generator for the electric hardware and produces 150 kW, or 157 kW when combined with a secondary electric motor on the rear axle for an intricate all-wheel-drive system Nissan calls e-4ORCE.
As a reminder, all current X-Trails utilise the venerable normally aspirated 2.5-litre petrol engine that delivers 135kW/244Nm to the front or all four wheels via a CVT.
For the moment though, no definitive details about whether the X-Trail would serve as catalyst for the e-Power system is known.
The same also applies to whether one or both of the Renault underpinned models will be brought-in over the next 12 months.
However, expect more details to emerge with the onset of 2025.
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