Nissan has decided to continue the Rogue Sport at the end of the year.
On Monday, a spokesperson for the Japanese automaker confirmed that the Nissan Rogue Sport will no longer be included in the brand's American lineup beginning December. Nissan said that the production of the Rogue Sport will conclude in December and that the remaining units of the compact crossover will be sold through early 2023.
"With the all-new Rogue and recently redesigned Kicks, we will continue to cover this part of [the] market effectively," Nissan Vice President Scott Shirley explained in the dealer memo, as per CNET. The Nissan Rogue Sport is smaller and less powerful than the automaker's Rogue and struggled to carve out a place in the market especially after the subcompact crossover called Kicks made its debut.
Nissan to Focus on 'Core Models'
Critics and car enthusiasts were mostly unsurprised to find that the Nissan Rogue Sport will soon be discontinued by the Japanese carmaker. Autoblog reported that the Rogue Sport was launched for 2017 but appeared to be an Americanized version of the Qashqai's second generation, which already made it to global markets back in 2013.
This made the Nissan Rogue Sport appear dated in terms of design. Nissan's Qashqai on the other hand, found success in Europe, as it appeared to be perfectly sized for the region's smaller streets. In the US, Nissan owners went for the standard Rogue for its larger room, increased power, and array of technology features.
Now, Nissan hopes they could focus on prioritizing their "core models and segments that bring the most benefit to customers," the carmaker said in a statement. Whatever costs they will save from dropping the Nissan Rogue Sport will go into further developing their best-sellers, such as the Rogue, Kicks, and Pathfinder.
In fact, Nissan already renewed the Rogue for 2021 and the Pathfinder for 2022, and some anonymous dealer sources said that the Japanese carmaker also has updates in store for the Kicks. The second generation Kicks is rumored to come out in 2024 and feature a longer, wider, "more SUV-like" appearance and look and will supposedly come with all-wheel drive.
Those who recently purchased a Nissan Rogue Sport need not worry however, as the company said it will offer parts support until 2033.
Where Nissan Stands Today
In July, Nissan Group announced its second quarter report, which showed how sales for the Pathfinder grew 229.3% year over year for the quarter, followed by the Frontier with 33% and the Altima with 34.8%. However, Nissan only sold 183,171 units, which is a 38.6% decrease from last year.
During Nissan Motor Co.,'s Q1 2022 earnings call, Chief Operating Officer Ashwani Gupta cited the "persisting semiconductor shortage, raw material price hikes, and knock-on impact from lockdowns in China" as the main reasons why supply chains are still constrained, causing delays in production and delivery, Seeking Alpha reported. Nissan admitted that the semiconductor shortage had forced them to take a closer look at its entire supply chain ecosystem and plan on developing alternative semiconductors while "exploring direct sourcing options for raw materials" for longer term.
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