As the fresh rubber of the 2021 Nissan Navara rolls onto showroom floors for the first time, Nissan South Africa gave an indication of where it would like to see the updated bakkie performing on the sales charts.
At a virtual launch held on Monday, Mike Whitfield, Managing Director of the Nissan’s Africa Regional Business Unit, said that the company was aiming for its locally-built product to be one of the three best-selling bakkies in the country.
Sales projections of 15 000 to 20 000 vehicles sold per year is what the Japanese vehicle maker is hoping to achieve locally.
Ford and Toyota are continuing their slug fest at the peak of the sales race and it’s unlikely the Navara will topple either the Hilux or Ranger. However, it seemingly has its sights firmly on the Isuzu D-Max which as of last month was the third best-selling double cab bakkie in South Africa.
Nissan announced pricing for the new Navara last month, which starts at R311 000 for the utilitarian XE single cab petrol model, while the double cab range costs between R474 000 and R740 000.
The engine range has been completely revamped to include a petrol-powered base variant, with 118 kW and 233 N.m, and a 2.5-litre turbodiesel that’s offered in two output levels.
The ‘mid-output’ 2.5 diesel produces 120 kW and 403 N.m, while the range-topping version matches the outgoing twin-turbo 2.3-litre unit with outputs of 140 kW and 450 N.m.
Nissan has invested R3-billion to build the Navara at its plant in Rosslyn, Pretoria and will export to the continent in both left and right hand-drive configurations.
Read our first impressions of the 2.5D 140 kW prototype model that we drove in May.