Premium push! Nissan Qashqai sales won't be hurt by price hike

Nissan's push into semi-premium territory with its new-generation Qashqai won’t negatively impact sales numbers, despite the sizable price increase, according to Nissan’s local boss.

The third-generation Qashqai that goes on sale in January has been repositioned and is no longer sitting at the cheaper end of the small-SUV segment alongside the likes of the MG ZS, GWM Haval Jolion, or the ageing Mitsubishi ASX.

Nissan upped the prices by between $3000 and $8300 depending on the variant. Also, there is no longer a price-leading manual variant. The new Qashqai ranges in price from $33,890 to $47,390 before on-road costs.

Those prices are expected to be even higher when the petrol-electric hybrid ePower models arrive at some point in 2023. Looking at the mechanically related X-Trail, the price premium for an ePower model over the regular petrol versions is $4200. If Nissan opts for a Ti ePower, it will push the price into the $50,000 bracket, which is new territory for a Qashqai.

Nissan Australia managing director Adam Paterson said while price was always a factor in customer’s buying decisions, he said the new Qashqai pricing would not have a negative impact on Qashqai sales.

“For a number of reasons. One, I think the car commands the price. I spent about 850 kilometres in one a couple of weekends ago … and after doing that, I'm even more convinced as to how premium it is. And I think customers will feel the same as well.

If Nissan opts for a Ti ePower, it will push the price of the Qashqai into the $50,000 bracket.

“Two, the segment is very different than it was even just three or four years ago. The growth in that small SUV segment [is] 160,000 cars or 15 per cent of the market versus much smaller years ago. So, the volume of customers shopping in that segment is far greater than previously.”

The Qashqai has traditionally been one of the better selling small SUVs in Australia, and one of Nissan’s most popular models. Following the previous model’s mid-2014 launch, it was a staple in the top three best-selling models in the small SUV segment with the Mitsubishi ASX and Mazda CX-3.

Sales have dropped off in recent years as newer offerings like the Hyundai Kona and Kia Seltos arrived. In 2021, Nissan sold just 5750 examples, well off the pace of the MG SZ (18,423) and the ASX (14,764).

The Qashqai has traditionally been one of the better selling small SUVs in Australia.

With the arrival of the ePower variants of the X-Trail and Qashqai coming in 2023, Nissan will be able to better compete with the market leader when it comes to petrol-electric powertrains - Toyota.

However, Mr Paterson was at pains to explain that ePower is not a hybrid in the traditional sense - “we're offering an electrified powertrain with the ePower, which is a different technology completely” - and therefore Nissan would not pitch itself as a hybrid brand. Mr Paterson said the Australian market was unique in that alternative powertrains are on the rise, but large-capacity petrol and diesel models were still incredibly popular.

“Obviously battery electric and plug-in hybrid and alternative powertrains are growing quite rapidly, but the ute and full-size SUV market is not slowing down at all. So while we are increasing our electrified offering across the range, and we need to do so because that's growing rapidly, we're not abandoning or giving up on Patrol or Navara, which for the foreseeable future will continue to be ICE (internal combustion engine), petrol and diesel.”