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Nismo Australia decision fast-tracked

The process of bringing a number of Nismo models to local shores is being fast-tracked by Nissan Australia managing director Richard Emery.


While still some time away from local launch, Emery this week confirmed it was creeping every closer to securing the complete range of Nismo-tuned sports variants of its existing range here.

As part of an image-building effort, Nissan’s performance arm is globally rolling out tuned versions of the company’s regular and sports models, from the Juke, Pulsar and Micra through to the GT-R.

“I think we’d be in a position to talk Nismo — in terms of when they appear in showrooms it’s too early to tell — but certainly we’ll have a position nailed in the next six months,” Emery told us this week.

In other words, we’ll know the plan before the end of 2015, pointing to a local launch in the first half of 2016.

One decision that is clear is that it won’t be just one or two Nismo models that come here — it will be almost all available products.

“[We] wouldn’t do it otherwise, it would need to be two-three different cars… certainly heading in that direction,” Emery said.

Now, we know that Nissan Australia has been working on Nismo for some time, but the difference this time is that upper management has confirmed it is now on the front-burner, not the back.

“We have been working on it for a while, but I suppose I’ve added some impetus to speed that up, and it’s been taken positively by Japan and Nismo themselves,” Emery added. 

Securing the fettled versions of the Juke, 370Z and GT-R, and perhaps other models such as the Pulsar (there was a concept version, remember) would give Nissan some much needed sex appeal, and fodder for Australia’s enormous appetite for performance cars.

Almost every performance sub-brand — from Renault RS and Volkswagen with the GTI, though to BMW M and Mercedes-AMG — sells in disproportionately big numbers here.

As we reported late last year, the plan for Australia’s Nismo roll out will likely see specialist GT-R Platinum dealers dedicate a section of their showroom to Nismo cars.

“We want the customer experience from a brand point of view for Nismo to be good, it’s not just selling Nismo outside of any standard showroom, it has to be specialist salesmen that understand the special experience [the customers are seeking],” Nismo’s global head of brand marketing and sales Darren Cox said.

In Japan and Europe, GT-R-trained dealers are creating Nismo performance centres with specially trained staff to cater to the enthusiast audience that seeks Nismo vehicles. Of the more than 3000 Nissan dealerships in Europe, only 65 have been selected for the task.

Read up on Nismo’s ventures on our dedicated section of the site here

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