TIOT Iss.2 - Nissan's saving grace!
There has been a lot of digital ink spilled about all the ways Nissan can come back from the brink of collapse after multiple years of declining sales and lost profits. People demanded a renewed focus on sports cars, others called on other successful companies like Honda to buy them out right, and some even wanted a full commitment to pure electric vehicles. What did Nissan do in the face of overwhelming speculation and calls to action?
They refreshed the Nissan Rogue!
Which might sound delusional, but don't click away from this article just yet because I think they might be onto something.
Love it or hate it, the Nissan Rogue has single-handedly kept Nissan alive up to this point. The Rogue continues to be their best-selling vehicle year after year and has even made it into the top 10 most purchased vehicles from any manufacturer (coming in at number 8) to start the new year off strong.
However, the success of the Rogue can be lost in a flash due to both shifting buyer interests and the recently refreshed competition.
Buyers are currently looking for cheaper vehicles that can save them money at the pump, and that sentiment doesn't seem to be changing anytime soon. Thankfully, the new Rogue comes standard with a series hybrid powertrain, which will increase its MPG enough to fight back against other recently refreshed vehicles like the hybrid CR-V and Rav4. Not just based on MPG figures but simplicity since the new Rogue only accepts gasoline and forgoes the more advanced plug-in hybrid features offered by the competition. Which I personally enjoy, but the market doesn't seem to favor.
The new Rogue’s electric powertrain should also feel a lot more powerful than the outgoing model, which should finally bring the vehicle’s performance inline with its competition. Over the years, the Rogue’s 3-cylinder has failed to impress, and in a world with the likes of the CR-V’s 4-cylinder engines offered at a similar price, it’s no surprise that they outsold the Rogue on a regular basis. The key to all of this, though, is going to be the price of the vehicle because it wouldn’t have mattered if the CR-V made more power if it cost twice as much.
The MSRP will be everything for this vehicle. It's been shown time and time again that current Nissan buyers go there for maximum savings, not brand loyalty, and if they made all of these improvements to the vehicle just to raise the price above the competition, then Nissan has nowhere to go but down. Hopefully, we will find out the pricing for the vehicle soon since they will be releasing it to the general public before the end of this year. Let me know in the comments if you think this was a good idea or not and what you would do if you were the CEO of Nissan. Catch you next Tuesday!
