Nissan to take on European C segment with newly unveiled Pulsar

Nissan has announced details and revealed photographs of its new Pulsar model, with which it hopes to take a share of the important C CAR segment in Europe. According to a statement released by the automaker, the new five-door hatchback's exterior styling shares the design direction of the latest generation Nissan Note multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), as well as the Qashqai and X-Trail crossovers. This includes Nissan's V-motion corporate grille and boomerang-shaped LED lights which use 50% less power than conventional bulbs. It is slightly larger than the class-leading Volkswagen (VW) Golf at 4,385 mm long, but much of this stems from the 2,700 mm wheelbase which is said to be the largest in its class. This is said to benefit interior space substantially, particularly in the rear, and Nissan believes it outdoes competitors in the D segment in areas such as knee room.

The Pulsar will be offered with a range of powertrain options that unsurprisingly focus on fuel efficiency and reduced carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. At launch, engines available with be the gasoline (petrol) 1.2-litre DIG-T turbocharged four-cylinder engine producing 115PS, as well as a diesel 1.5-litre dCi engine developing 110PS and 260 Nm of torque, and it is said that some variants will be capable of below 95 g/km of CO2. The vehicle will also be available with Nissan's XTronic continuously variable transmission (CVT). An additional 190PS 1.6-litre gasoline turbocharged engine is expected to join the range in early 2015.

Technology that will be available to customers will include Nissan's Safety Shield system which combines a range of safety technologies in to one package, such as Forward Emergency Braking, Moving Object Detection, Lane Departure Warning and Blind Spot Warning. It added that it will also include the latter three options as standard on at least one variant in the Pulsar's range as part of its commitment to safety. Other equipment available will include the second-generation of the NissanConnect system, which includes full smartphone integration, Google Send-to-Car and access to a wide variety applications.

Outlook and implications

Nissan is returning to the C CAR category in Europe having left it in 2007 following the disappointing performance of its offering at the time, the Almera. Despite a strong start in the early part of the previous decade with a peak of 120,000 units, demand slid relatively quickly to 60,000 units. This was at a point where the market for C CAR type vehicles in the market stood at an average of almost 4 million units, and was largely why Nissan took an alternative tack and focused on the introduction of the Note and the Qashqai. The latter has been exceptionally successful in Europe, and is still selling 200,000 units per annum (upa) even towards the end of the first generation's lifecycle. It has also been a contributing factor to a redefinition of what type of vehicle European customers are demanding, leading to a surge in the C SUV category from around 415,000 upa in 2006 to an expected 1.45 million units this year.

The growth of this niche category and others, as well as the economic climate, has led to a tumble in the number of C CAR models sold in the region to around 2.7 million units during 2013. Nevertheless, it is still one of the largest selling segments in the region, taking more than 20% of customers, and this is set to continue in the future. Given the segment's scale and the customer interest it has built up through its crossover offerings, it comes as no surprise that Nissan is seeing this as an opportunity to break back into this market with the Pulsar. The vehicle will be built at the automakers Barcelona (Spain) site which has benefited from EUR110 million (USD150.7 million) and support the increase of utilisation there (see Spain: 5 February 2014: Nissan reaches agreement to bring new compact hatchback to Barcelona plant). However, although Nissan does not have wild expectations for it, pegging production at around 80,000 upa, it will face some of the same stiff competition from competitors it fought against previously including the Ford Focus and Volkswagen (VW) Golf, as well as newcomers such as Hyundai's i30 and Kia's Cee'd, which have made good headway in the past few years and are also locally produced. As a result, IHS Automotive anticipates sales of the Pulsar reaching 64,000 units during its first full year in 2015, before drifting down towards the end of the decade below the 50,000 unit mark. This will also be just a fraction of the amount sold by the Qashqai during this time.