- Nissan has reaffirmed its commitment to the New Zealand and Australian markets.
- The company has launched a newly-updated version of the Patrol SUV before the all-new model arrives in 2026.
- New Navara will land here in 2026 as well, along with the new Leaf.
While Nissan has had a relatively low profile in New Zealand in the post-Covid years, a change in management and a shift in perspective will see it ramp up local efforts, both here and in Australia. Nissan Oceania Managing Director, Andrew Humberstone, along with Nissan NZ General Manager Jenni Martin, recently held a roundtable with local media where they reaffirmed the Japanese company's commitment to the local market.
"We’ve been here since 1954 and opened our New Zealand headquarters in 1963," said Humberstone.
"We were the first Japanese brand to be assembled in New Zealand, we went on to manufacture cars in New Zealand for the next 30 years and we are here to stay.
"Our chairman recently sent a letter to all dealers reinforcing Nissan's commitment to the market and the region. This is a powerful message."
Despite the relatively low key approach of late, Nissan has seen encouraging results from a sales perspective so far in 2025, with a "dramatic lift" in the Navara ute’s market share from 6 percent to around 10 percent, while the company's overall market share has also grown by 1.1% this year.
"Its clear New Zealand customers continue to value our models," said Humberstone, who is currently in New Zealand for what he says will be quarterly visits to our market to meet with the local management team and dealers.
"We have a long heritage in New Zealand, but in recent times we haven't managed the heritage as well as we could have. We have now an opportunity to effectively revive where we are at," he said.
To this end Humberstone says he has developed a mid-term plan to strengthening the brand, improve customer retention - particularly after-sales service - and focus on product development and investment.
Nissan's recent strong sales performance has also seen Humberstone request increased volume and production from the company, which he successfully secured.
"This is very positive. We engaged with the dealer network by explaining our current stock, production, car flow, and planning status, and asked for their feedback on the market," he said.
"The response was positive; they wanted more vehicles. I told them if they committed to a specific number, I would try to secure the allocation. We achieved this, which is positive and was well-received by them."
A large part of the increased production allocation will be made up by the Navara ute, both the current model and its replacement, which is due in 2026.
"Without the extra allocation, we would have been short and experienced a period without product [Navara]," said Humberstone.
"The question is always whether we have enough stock to bridge the gap between the end of old production and the start of new production.
"In this scenario, we must be precise about the number of units needed. The relationship with the dealer network is critical because we rely on their commitment to that volume. We don't want to upset customers who recently purchased by having old stock when the new model arrives, leading to discounting.
"We're trying to protect residual values with our finance packages, ensuring we protect customers who bought recently. This is crucial for customer retention. This is the science of the business. The better we manage this, the better we've done our job. It's about getting as close as possible while building an order bank for the new model and optimising the old variant.
"We've done this well with the Patrol. We have a significant order bank in Australia and New Zealand, with customers waiting, and I'm fighting for extra allocation."
The upgraded 2025 Patrol will land here in late August/early September and will bridge the gap to an all-new model that is likely to begin RHD production sometime late in 2026.
Nissan New Zealand general manager, Jenni Martin, says the majority of the Patrol's upgrades for 2025 have been in its cabin, which now features two interior colour schemes, with buyers having the choice of a minimalist, modern black leather-accented layout or a "premium-feeling" chestnut colour scheme with woodgrain highlights on the dash and doors, and quilted leather accented seats.
The Patrol also gets a big update of its cabin tech for 2025 and now features a new 12.3-inch central touchscreen infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, along with wireless phone charging, Intelligent Around View monitoring with moving object detection, and a fully customisable 7.0-inch TFT Driver Dash Display that also doubles as the display for the "Off-Road Monitor" camera system.
Martin said that Nissan New Zealand will offer the Patrol in a single flagship Ti-L grade that will cost $118,900 and comes standard with a 13-speaker Bose stereo, a centre console cool box, and a digital high-definition Intelligent Rear View Mirror.
While the upcoming all-new model will be powered by a new six-cylinder turbo engine, the upgraded 2025 Patrol sticks with the long-running 298kW/560Nm 5.6-litre V8 petrol engine paired with a seven-speed automatic transmission with a low-range transfer case and Nissan's "Intelligent 4X4" system.
