Category: Nissan

Nine months after hitting the showrooms, the Qashqai has already been sold at 100,000 units in Europe. United Kingdom, Russia and Italy are the largest markets with sales at the end of November of 17,554, 15,376 and 10,746 units respectively since launch.

Qashqai has exceeded all sales forecasts since its launch in March. To meet demand for the car in Europe, production was increased by 20% in June at the factory in Sunderland, England, where it is manufactured. And starting this month, the manufacture of the Japanese version of Qashqai will be transferred from Sunderland to Nissan’s factory in Kyushu, Japan, freeing up extra production capacity for Europe. Sales of Dualis in Japan, as it is badged in that market, have also exceeded expectation, with total sales of over 18,000 sales since its introduction in May.

Qashqai buyers come from varied backgrounds: they can be former owners of compact cars such as the Renault Megane or the Vauxhall Astra, upper saloons like the Toyota Avensis or the Renault Laguna and small SUV such as the Kia Sportage or previous-generation Hyundai Santa Fe. Bold design is cited as one of the main asset of the crossover.

The Nissan Almera definitely became a forgotten page in the automotive books.

The Japanese auction company aucnet.jp reserved to professionals has revealed that ¥10 million milestone despite an official price of ¥8,340,000/£36,430. The Premium edition with a white paint reached ¥10,400,000/£45,430,. In other words, someone was ready to pay more than 20% over the official price to get a GT-R!

In the past, Nissan had announced he would fight GT-R speculation but its efforts don’t really convince and the Japanese brand is rather happy by such frenzy. The GT-R becomes the third in Aucnet history to generate such a buzz after the 1987 Nissan Be-1, a small car, and the 1990 Honda NSX.

Here is a video of the production line for Nissan’s GT-R. The coupé is not a normal Nissan so a video of its production line is interesting. You will notice that it involves a lot of hand operations.

After the exterior sketch, Nissan kindly released a sketch of the interior of the Forum concept car due to be unveiled at the next Detroit Motor Show.

Larger than the Cube model but smaller than the El Grand minivan, the Forum will be roomy enough to offer three rows. It will offer an interior which will feature innovative equipments such as a one-button audio muting system! It will also include a Bose media system with individual seat-mounted speakers for every row. The 2nd and the 3rd will offer monitoring cameras.

According to the sketch, the dashboard structure seems to be close enough to reality to be fitted soon in a production car. The Forum may not move to production but its interior is a preview of what Nissan models might offer in the future.

This is not the first time we heard about a future Silvia, but this time the rumour might be true. According to various sources, the car has already been given the green light by Carlos Ghosn and the carmaker’s COO Toshiyuki Shiga. The coupé will be introduced within three years. A new model beneath the Z and the GT-R would reinforce Nissan’s line-up. It would also help Nissan to seduce young buyers on the Japanese market where sales have been sluggish for many years.

Mystery surrounds the future model, although some observers try to guess the car’s spec. According to the Japanese magazine, Best Car, the future Silvia would share its underpinning with the future Z and would feature a 2.0-litre 4 cylinders engine provided by Renault Sport. The coupé would provide seating for four persons. On the Japanese market, the car would be sold at around £10,000. There are no information regarding a potential sale in Europe. If Nissan sold it on our market, the car would likely be twice more expensive than the Japanese model.

In Europe, Nissan would benefit from the image generated by the previous generations, and might be a serious contender for German carmakers and, of course, the future Laguna coupé.

Source: Best Car

With a highly competitive price tag of $69,850 for the entry model, Nissan has limited ambitions for the GT-R on the American Market, Indeed, the Japanese carmaker plans to sell 1,500 cars every year.

This conservative sales forecast might become more than a problem for Nissan. On the Japanese market, the manufacturer expected to sell around 200 cars for November. In less than two weeks, it recorded 2,282 sales. At this rate, it would be able to sell 25,000 cars per year, only on the Japanese market. If we consider with a very rough calculation that the US has twice the population of Japan, Nissan might sell 50,000 cars per year. Add the European sales and it might reach 55,000 sales per year. It would be more than a triumph for Nissan. But let’s come back on earth. Nissan has only the capacity to build 12,000 GT-Rs per year at this moment. Speculations are opened and some dealers plan to markup the GT-R as high as $15,000 per vehicle. It will still be far less expensive than the Porsche 911 Turbo, which costs $122,800.

How will the GT-R perform in Europe? The car has an estimated price tag of £60,000. If it is less expensive than the 911 Turbo, it is still very expensive. Despite having no Nissan badge, except on the deck lid, the GT-R will remain a Nissan for European customers who are more attracted by the brand than the cars themselves.

Source: Autoblog

The only noticeable mention of Nissan on the GT-R is on the deck lid. The front displays the GT-R badge. The same goes for the steering wheel. More than a Nissan, the GT-R is first and foremost a GT-R. Thus, it deserves a special maintenance service to satisfy the high expectations of new customers who used to upper market brands service. Aware of this situation, Nissan is currently training its staff around the world to meet the future demand.

To aspire to the title of supercar, the GT-R gets one of the most advanced AWD system in the world, the Nissan-first dual clutch gearbox and the twin-turbocharged engine that has an output of 473 bhp. Despite its competitive price, the car will require the same maintenance as a performance car. Instead of requiring a service every ten thousand miles, the car will require a service every couple of thousand miles.

The customer will also be able to have his or her GT-R tuned to factory specifications once a year for free for three years. The certified personnel will align wheels and adjust transmissions.

Here are the first shots of the new Nissan Murano which will be unveiled at the Los Angeles Motor Show. Do not expect big changes. The current Murano sells well and its shape is still appealing despite its age.

With this new Murano, Nissan wants to ride on the success encountered by the current generation. The SUV keeps its original shape, with the main update being to the taillights. For the first time, it also features a panoramic roof.

Regarding the technical details, no information is currently available but it might replace its current engine, the 3.5 litre V6 known as VQ35De, by the updated 3.5 litre VQ35HR. The power would jump from 245 bhp to 315 bhp.

No sooner has the Tokyo Motor Show ended than Nissan has unveiled the first teaser for the next Detroit Motor Show. Penned at Nissan Design America, the concept car explores “the next generation of family transportation”.

The concept car appears to be a MPV larger than a Nissan Cube but smaller than an El Grand. It will feature trackless sliding doors and no B-pillars.