“It has a lot of connectivity and technology, which I think is very interesting, because it [shows] Nissan’s ability to bring tech and innovation into our vehicles,” said Vila. “This is the value we see for Europe.”
Vila’s team is studying the NX8 for the UK too, where Nissan’s two biggest SUVs kick off at around £38,000. Number crunchers are scrutinising the target audience and potential price bands. But even if the new NX8 started closer to £45,000, it would still offer compelling tech for the money. “I think it’s an absolutely awesome, higher end car,” enthused Vila.
Although he sounds very confident the NX8 will get the green light, there are hurdles to be cleared first. The car will need to be crash-tested as part of the homologation process, and the driver assistance systems, connectivity and software prepped to European and UK standards.
“From a mission standpoint, there is zero problem, but there are always very technical elements of regulation that we need to meet,” he told us. “The decision can come relatively soon, but the timeline for bringing it to Europe, we cannot tell now. We’ll try to be relatively fast, but that’s going to be part of the study.”
It sounds like Nissan will gun for 2027, but the project may well slip into 2028. The SUVs will be imported from China, rather than production being established on this continent.
The Nissan-Dongfeng joint-venture also produces two big saloons, the N6 plug-in hybrid and the N7 EV. But they are unlikely to make the trip across the ocean.
“We see less space for sedans, classic sedans. We had that in the past but the market shrank a lot. There are still a few, but it’s relatively niche. And, from our analysis, these vehicles are very long with a long wheelbase,” concluded the European VP.
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