Nissan Almera 2013 News

The two Nissan safety recalls are for defects in the satellite sensor for the side curtain airbag on Pulsar and Almera, and for the stop light switch on the Pulsar hatch. The recall affects a total of 15,900 cars: 14,300 Pulsars and 1600 Almeras.The first of the recalls, for the Nissan Almera and Pulsar sedan and hatch, is to rectify faulty installation of sensor for the side curtain airbag in the B-Pillar, which can result in the airbag not deploying properly in a crash. The second recall is due to an incorrect stop light switch being installed in some Nissan Pulsar hatches fitted with CVT automatic transmissions. This could lead to the switch failing, preventing the stop light from working -- although braking is not affected. "There have been no incidents reported related to the safety recalls, with the fault being picked up internally by our engineers," Nissan Australia spokesperson Chris Jordan says. "Each of the fixes will take just an estimated 30 minutes to inspect the car and rectify the problem.Letters are being sent to affected owners, who can contact a local Nissan dealer to arrange for inspection and, where necessary, rectification of the front passenger airbag inflator and replacement of the stop light switch.  

Based on the Micra platform, the Thai-built Almera is an important step in Nissan’s plan to fills the gaping chasms in their line-up. Nissan’s current range leans heavily towards the larger and offroad products ranging from the vehicles from the compact Dualis and X-Trail SUVs, to the medium-sized Murano and Pathfinder and on to the large Patrol and the Navara range of utes. “We need to get better at passenger car delivery,” Nissan spokesman Jeff Fisher says. “We’ve always been good at commercial and SUV vehicles, but for about a decade we haven’t been as good on passenger vehicles as we should be.” The Almera sedan will fill the gap between the popular Micra and the aging Tiida, with the latter due to be replaced early next year with the return of the Pulsar nameplate it tried  -- and failed – to kill off.  It will be joined next year by the mid-sized Altima, which will carry Nissan’s badge into V8 Supercar racing. Fisher says the restocked passenger car shelves promise bright sales prospects. “We see the Almera as bridging the territory between the Micra and Tiida, and appealing largely to mature buyers and families – especially because of the interior size,” he says. “While it’s built on the same platform as the Micra it has a much larger body – it’s a Micra on steroids.” He acknowledges the Tiida is lagging in sales, with just over 3500 last year meaning a drop of 35 per cent, but says the Pulsar will change that. “The Tiida has been around for six years, but we are expecting quite improved performance from Pulsar – we have big plans for it,” he says. “And later next year the Altima will plug the mid-sized segment gap.” Fisher says having better coverage should improve Nissan’s overall position on the Australian sales ladder. “When we have the full line of product coverage, we’ve said we want to look at gaining import leadership and we figure with some of the product coming we’ll be able to get there,” he says. Nissan’s sales chief Ian Moreillon told Carsguide earlier this year  “our stated goal is to be Australia’s number one full-line importer by March 2013 and we are still on target to achieve this". “With the plans we have in place, we certainly have the potential to grow our sales significantly over the next 12 months,” Moreillon said at the time, adding that this year’s flood of new models would sweep Nissan past Mazda by this time next year. With the Almera aiming at families, you can expect Nissan to focus on the interior space as a call to buyer attention. And the mature buyers are clearly the target of the conservative styling that will set the little sedan apart from youth-oriented rivals like the Toyota Yaris, Mazda2 and Suzuki Swift. “Design is a matter for an individual –  we think it’s a very distinctive,” Fisher says. Nissan has not yet confirmed engines and specification for the Almera, but the car in Thailand echoes the Micra ‘s entry-level 1.2-litre engine with a choice of either five-speed manual or CVT transmissions, while the Chinese market gets the Amera/Sunny with a 1.5-litre in higher spec.  

It also has the compact Almera, a Diesel Dualis, and the battery-powered Leaf, as well as another sharpening tweak to the GT-R supercar to fold into a richer product mix. Then there are four upscale Infiniti models in a big brand stretch at the top end of the Nissan family. The flood of new models is intended to get Nissan onto many more Australian shopping lists, as the company looks to overtake Hyundai and Mazda to become the country's favourite pure import brand."We will be putting eight new products into the market in the next 12 months. We have four on the Nissan side and four from Infiniti," says Dan Thompson, managing director of Nissan Australia. "There are also the regular updates across the other models like the 370Z. It's all coming together within two years. It's great." Thompson is nearing the end of his time in Australia before taking up a promotion in Europe in April, but is clearly still committed to a product update that's easily the biggest since Nissan closed its local manufacturing operation in Australia. "We've got a lot happening. Leaf is in June, that's the next one to come," Thompson says. "Then Almera, then Patrol, then Pulsar. It's all in the next 12 months. Probably the biggest challenge is probably prioritising things. It's going to be a busy, busy period."Thompson says the return of the Pulsar nameplate - which was dumped byJapanese management in favour of the Tiida - is a big event. "We've got big plans for the Pulsar and there is a lot of good stuff we're going to do, especially with the hatch," he says. Right now, he says Nissan is working towards the end of the Japanese financial year and its target of overtaking Mitsubishi in Australia. "We're also up there again in the top three fastest-growing brands. We're starting to get there. We've had seven percent-plus market share for a while now."But Thompson says it's the new cars that are going to make the biggest difference. "We've got the new GT-R landing this month. And that's a pretty big update for just a running change. "We've got the update to the Z, which is the US cycle. We've got Dualis diesel coming towards the end of the year. And we have some other big stuff. "We've got lots of good little running changes for all the core product. We've got a new Navara product coming this month out of spain. With the capacity constraints in Thailand we moved the ST, our best selling variant, to Spain. We're scrambling to find capacity."