Nissan Pulsar 2013 News

The company is keen to recapture some of the magic lost when the Pulsar name was unceremoniously dumped four years ago with the arrival of the Tiida. The Pulsar name had been in use locally for more than 25 years.Nissan Australia managing director, Dan Thompson, is now prepared to dust off the name and give it a new lease of life. "If, come Tiida replacement, we elect to launch with the Pulsar name, we will launch with the Pulsar name," Thompson, says.However, Thompson cautions that 'it's a couple of years between now and launch'. "When we get to the right stage we'll do all the research to ensure that the equity in the Pulsar name is aligned with the product that we plan to launch," he says.Although there is still equity in the name today, that may not be the case in the future. "There was equity a year ago when we had the discussion but whether it's there in two years time remains to be seen," he says. Thompson agrees there is plenty of goodwill among Pulsar owners because there is such a huge carpark of older cars. "But fast forward a few years down the road and those numbers are starting to dwindle," he says.Changing the name is something Thompson can do "if we so desire". But he warns that the question remains whether the next-generation small car matches the brand equity of the Pulsar name. When the Tiida was launched in 2006 Nissan Australia had no choice but to drop the Pulsar name and adopt a global naming strategy orchestrated by Nissan Japan. However in the United States, the car was called the Versa.The original Pulsar arrived here in 1981. It was credited with saving Nissan locally and subsequently launching a sub-$20,000 price fight that secured strong sales. Pulsar sales soared in the early days of the sub-$20,000 contest, but as newer, lower-cost entrants from South Korea arrived it was overwhelmed. The current Thai-built Tiida benefits from zero import duties but sales have never reached the Pulsar highs.

Pulsar is back in play as the company looks to exploit its next generation of products. The Pulsar name was dumped on orders from Japan when the compact Tiida arrived Down Under as its middle-of-the-road replacement.However, the new head of Nissan Australia believes it could have a place when the successor to today's Tiida is ready for the road.“Tiida has not been a home run,” Nissan Australia managing director Dan Thompson says.So, what about a return to the Pulsar name to revitalise Nissan's small-car contender?“I wish I could tell you that,” Thompson says. “It's the million-dollar question. There is obviously a lot of brand equity and history with the Pulsar name. I'm not going to rule it out. But it's still some way out.”Thompson is about to launch a huge range of new products, from the Maxima and Murano to the GT-R next year. He is 35 and, fresh from head office in Japan, is keen to get things going.“Nissan stands for being bold and balancing that with being thoughtful. We still have great cars. I don't think we've got it wrong,” he says.His predecessor was a Tiida fan and refused to discuss any return of the Pulsar nameplate, even after a huge backlash from dealers. But Thompson says he will be more open.“It will be a discussion. But there is a lot of equity to the Tiida name. And we have the Versa name in the US. There is long-term value in global branding,” he says.Thompson is a recent arrival but already seems to understand some of the unique challenges in Australia, including the Pulsar's place and the unsuccessful switch to Tiida. So, any time frame for the Tiida v Pulsar discussion? “When we look out as far as that, it's probably 2011. Nothing is concrete at this point,” he says.“I'd be much more concerned about fixing up what we have at the moment, which is the bread-and-butter of this brand.”He wants to put some spark back into Nissan's car line-up, which he believes has been lost with the big success of its four-wheel-drives.