After four decades of sales in Australia, the decision was made to scrap it Nissan Pathfinder from the local cast.
This was said by outgoing Oceania Region Managing Director for Nissan, Andrew Humberstone Daily Sparkz The family SUV will soon disappear from the brand’s portfolio along with the city SUV Nissan Juke.
Mr Humberstone has just a few days left at the helm before he is replaced by Steve Milette – but he says a lot of work has been done behind the scenes to secure the brand’s future in Australia.
“The biggest work was on (Nissan’s) product portfolio, of which we will initially only see the full implementation Navara, then Patrol and then new products coming out in the future,” he explained.
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“Unfortunately, Juke and Pathfinder will be leaving us.”
The news comes after declining sales of the two vehicles, with fewer than 740 units each delivered locally in the 2025 calendar year.
First launched in Australia in 1986 (known overseas as the Terrano), the Pathfinder was originally an off-road SUV version of the Navara ute before evolving into a more family-friendly unibody SUV.
Last month, According to a report from the US, Nissan is developing a new off-road version of the Pathfinder, this time with a body-on-frame construction – similar to the original ute-based SUV.
Additionally, while the latest Navara is a non-identical twin to the Mitsubishi Triton, a future Mitsubishi Pajero is believed to have been developed on the Triton/Navara platform, potentially opening the door for a Nissan-badged version of the Pajero.
However, the Nissan executive has turned the idea of a Triton/Navara-based SUV on its head, which is telling Daily Sparkz It was “not in the product portfolio that we are currently planning,” and the company instead focused on “size and mass” over the next five years.
Despite the axing of Juke and Pathfinder, Mr Humberstone – who remains at Nissan after taking a senior role in Europe – has promised some sort of revitalization of the company’s Australian product range over the next two years.
Part of that plan could include cheaper SUV models to replace the Juke.
“Absolutely, but only where we see scale,” he said.
“There are absolutely opportunities in those segments, but when we look at which segments have the size and volume that we’re interested in, I think for us it’s really about making sure we reach that critical mass.”
Although the Juke’s replacement hasn’t been confirmed, the Nissan Kicks is currently sold in Japan as a small SUV with hybrid technology – a powertrain that Humberstone says the company is focusing more on.
But while the industry has largely moved away from more traditional segments such as sedans and hatchbacks in recent decades, Humberstone says interest appears to be returning – particularly in Australia.
“There was a lot of talk about it, there was a lot of interest and we looked at some interesting products,” he revealed.
“Certainly some of our dealers have been very busy with some of the products we have shared with them.
“So it would be interesting to see that. We haven’t seen much of it in the market yet, but we haven’t really written it off as a bad idea. We definitely have a few potential product ranges that we could consider in that regard.”
With Nissan indefinitely postponing the launch of its electric Leaf in Australia – citing strong market demand for hybrid vehicles – this could open the door for the Nissan N6 to be brought to Australia. This is a plug-in hybrid sedan produced in collaboration with Nissan’s Chinese joint venture partner Dongfeng.
The N6, which has a 21.1 kWh battery combined with a 1.5-liter gasoline engine, is taller and wider than the hybrid Toyota Camry but has a slightly shorter wheelbase.
“A key component of our strategy is agility, so we have opened up options and learned what we can potentially do with Dongfeng – our joint venture partner – as well as what we can do through lower cost platform bases and managing exchange rates,” Humberstone said.
“So it really depends on where we see opportunities in the market – and we want to be able to respond within a few years rather than three, four or five years.”
MORE: Explore the Nissan Pathfinder showroom
MORE: Explore the Nissan Juke showroom
