Nissan revs up a gear with new Micra and Qashqai

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Friday, June 25, 2010

NISSAN were busy last week, outlining several new arrivals in Ireland and an active near future in terms of product launch.

Top of the pile, in volume, will be the new Micra, which was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year.

Nissan say its new super-mini will be a world car customised for each global region, and it expects the new car to appeal to a broader cross section of the population.

Overall size has been maintained, to keep Micra firmly as a city car, and Nissan, here in Ireland, expect that overall volumes in 2011 are expected towill hit the 4,000 unit mark.

The company says the new Micra is an exciting arrival for Nissan, in Ireland, and they plan to launch it towards the end of October this year. One reason they are cocky about the car is that there are already over 46,000 Micras currently on Irish roads and the car has always had a strong and very passionate following.

The company is also very bullish about its 2010 model, the Qashqai, which has been a monster seller for them — something they feel will continue to be the case. Nissan expects Qashqai sales to continue to increase, particularly as it has outsold all other cross-over models, combined, for 2010.

And a waiting list of 500 orders exists, even now.

The company’s Sunderland plant is going to do three shifts to handle ongoing demand for Qashqai, and to meet expected demand for the new Juke model, which will be launched here in September.

Nissan maintains that, in spite of new competitors, Qashqai demand continues to drive on and they feel the new model will only underline this phenomenon.

The new car features a host of changes, including a new headlight system, and new, blue, LED-type visual signature; a new upper grille and front bumper; a new bonnet, new front wings and new 16’ and 17’ alloy designs.

The company has also announced the launch, here, of the new, three-door 370Z coupe. The car features the VQ37VHR power unit, which is a V6 DOHC and features continuously variable valve event and lift (VVEL) system, and outputs some 241kw (328 bhp) at 7,000rpm; there is also 363 Nm, at 5,200rpm.

Top speed is 250kph and the 0-100 km/h dash is achieved in 5.3 seconds (or 5.6 with auto). There is either a six-speed manual gearbox or a seven-speed auto with paddle shift.

It will cost some 56,795.

Nissan says the sports segment in Ireland is currently tiny, given the economic climate — just 5% of sales — but they maintain that as the ‘Z’ Car is an icon of the Nissan brand, and showcases some of the key engineering strengths that are Nissan, they will still manage to sell a few of them.

Cars will be imported on a customer-order basis and volume is expected to be close to 20 per year.

In terms of its future launch schedule, Nissan Ireland says that its leaf customer order system will go live by July 12, the Juke will launch in September, while the Micra will launch in October and new versions of the Murano and X-Trail will be with us before the end of the year.

The all-electric leaf will launch in February 2011.