Forgotten Nissan could return

Nissan is considering importing its new-generation Murano SUV to Japan, opening the door in other right-hand drive markets for the US-built coupe SUV.

According to reports from both Automotive News and Nikkei Asia, Nissan is considering the move to soak up excess capacity at the brand’s currently underutilized North American plant in Tennessee, where the Murano is built alongside the Pathfinder.

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Reportedly, launching the models in Japan would have the added benefit of being looked upon favourably by the current US administration as tariffs are front of mind for many manufacturers.

While left-hand drive vehicles can be sold in the Japanese market, it would be highly unlikely a local manufacturer would offer a car without converting it to suit the domestic market. In addition, the US plant already has the capability to support right-hand drive thanks to the Pathfinder.

Therefore, it’s not a huge jump in logic to think the brand would also look for other right-hand drive markets to make converting the Murano worth it. Executives from the company also said the company must first undertake a feasibility study which would include gauging demand in Japan.

The current fourth-generation Murano appears as a combustion alternative to the electric-only Ariya, sharing a similar coupe-style silhouette, and even a very similar array of design cues on the inside. The US market version is all-wheel drive only, powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine (using the brand’s unusual variable compression technology) producing 180kW/353Nm, mated to a nine-speed traditional automatic transmission.

The Murano was sold in Australia in its first- and second-generation forms (which were both built in Japan) from 2005 until 2015. The third-generation version switched production to the US and was no longer built in right-hand drive.

In Japan, the Murano would face-off against the Toyota Harrier, essentially a dressed-down Lexus RX.

Whether the brand decides to build the Murano in right-hand drive is one thing, whether the Australian division would take it is another. Currently the US-built Pathfinder is struggling to make an impact on the large SUV segment.

It is up 28 per cent year-on-year, but had only amassed 601 sales at the end of September. It is being outsold by a ratio of more than 10:1 by the segment-leading Kluger, and remains behind the Hyundai Palisade, Mazda CX-80, KGM Rexton and even the newcomer MG QS.

Other sales disappointments this year for the embattled Japanese brand include its Qashqai small SUV down 31.3 per cent and Juke crossover down 58.9 per cent until the end of September.

The soon-to-be-replaced Navara is also down for the brand, while new opportunities on the horizon include the new Leaf, which has morphed from a hatchback into an SUV, and perhaps even the China-sourced Frontier Pro PHEV ute which the brand hasn’t ruled out as part of a two-pronged 4x4 strategy.