New Nissan half-tonne bakkie still on the cards
Nissan in Latin America has confirmed it continues to develop a new half-tonne bakkie, adding that the fresh model will be based on a Renault product. NP200 successor, anyone?
Back in early 2023, the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance announced plans to create a new half-tonne bakkie, developed by Renault and shared with Nissan. Of course, plenty has happened since then, including Nissan South Africa entering a “formal consultation phase to restructure the business” as it seeks a replacement for the NP200 that will go out of production in March 2024.
But a new Nissan-badged half-tonner remains on the cards – in some parts of the world, anyway. Nissan’s Latin American division recently confirmed it planned to “enrich” its product line-up, telling the Brazilian Motor1.com website it would utilise Renault’s “expertise” in the half-tonne segment.
Nissan pointed to the Niagara concept as an example of its alliance partner’s prowess in this unibody-bakkie segment, though Renault obviously also produces the Duster-based Oroch. As a reminder, the Oroch – which was long been in the planning for a South African introduction but still hasn’t materialised – was handed another facelift in 2022.
According to the Motor1.com report, the upcoming new-generation Oroch (if it continues to wear that badge, of course) will form the basis for the aforementioned new Nissan half-tonner, with both running on the Alliance’s CMF-B platform. Production is likely to take place in Argentina.
What does that mean for Nissan SA’s plant in Rosslyn? Well, we’ll have to wait and see, but it’s interesting to note the automaker’s local division confirmed it had earlier lined up an “immediate replacement model for NP200”, which was planned to be built on a Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance shared platform in Russia.
However, Nissan SA said the “geopolitical situation in Russia meant this model was no longer viable due to significantly reduced” volumes. “In line with our African strategy, securing a 2nd model for production in South Africa is a priority and a study into an alternative vehicle is already progressing,” the statement from Nissan SA read back in October 2023.
As a reminder, the NP200 launched in SA as a replacement for the Nissan 1400 in 2008. The NP200 had the local half-tonne bakkie segment all to itself since the end of 2017, when General Motors quit Mzansi, thus marking the end of the line for the Chevrolet Utility. As such, the Dacia Logan-based single cab quickly became Nissan SA’s chief volume driver.
Find a used Nissan NP200 on Cars.co.za!
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