Nissan has almost entirely exhausted stock of its popular Qashqai, and the new model is still a few months away.
According to the January 2022 VFACTS report, zero Qashqais were sold nationwide in January.
“Almost all Qashqais have been retailed. There are a limited number of demos available in the dealer network,” said a spokesperson for Nissan Australia.
“With regards to launch, we’re excited to be launching new Qashqai soon and will provide more concrete timing as we get closer to launch.”
Pictured: the outgoing Qashqai
The last time we spoke to Nissan Australia’s senior management, late last year, the ETA for the new UK-built crossover was the first half of 2022.
It could have been worse for Nissan Australia.
It ran out of stock of the previous-generation Pathfinder in the middle of 2021, more than 12 months before the new model was set to arrive.
The redesigned Pathfinder is expected to arrive in the second half of this year along with a redesigned X-Trail.
Pictured: the redesigned Qashqai
Nissan will therefore go from having one of the oldest crossover line-ups in Australia to one of the newest, with the Juke having been redesigned in 2020.
The current Qashqai was first introduced in 2014, replacing the first-generation model sold here as the Dualis.
The new model has evolutionary styling and will come with a familiar model line-up, comprising ST, ST+, ST-L and Ti variants.
Nissan has yet to announce pricing.
The Qashqai will be powered by a new turbocharged 1.3-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, producing 110kW of power at 5500rpm and 250Nm of torque at 1600rpm.
Those outputs are up 4kW and 50Nm on the current car.
It’s a different tune to the European-market Qashqai, which features a 12V mild-hybrid system and produces 116kW and 270Nm with the CVT and either 113kW and 240Nm or 116kW and 260Nm with the six-speed manual.
All new Qashqai models in Australia will be front-wheel drive and use a continuously-variable transmission.
Nissan claims the fuel efficiency of the new Qashqai will be 6.1L/100km on the combined cycle, an improvement of 0.8L/100km over the outgoing model.
We’re expected to get an e-Power hybrid variant, with Nissan Australia confirming last year it’ll be launching its first e-Power model in 2022. It’s expected to be an e-Power Qashqai.
Built on the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance CMF-C architecture, Nissan claims the Qashqai’s platform is now significantly stiffer. It also has a claimed 60kg lighter body shell.
Larger in every dimension than the outgoing model, the new Qashqai measures 1625mm tall (+30mm), 1835mm wide (+29mm), and 4425mm long (+31mm) with a 2665mm wheelbase (+19mm).
While the company hasn’t revealed pricing, it’s confirmed what equipment each variant will have. You can read the full breakdown here.
Notably, all models feature a full suite of active safety and driver assist technology, including adaptive cruise control, blind-spot assist, lane-keep assist, rear cross-traffic alert, and traffic sign recognition.
They’ll also include an autonomous emergency braking system with pedestrian and cyclist detection and junction assist, as well as reverse AEB with pedestrian detection.
