It’s now official, Nissan Qashqai will disappear from the North American automotive market. The new version of the subcompact SUV, currently offered in Europe, will not see the light of day in the country. The company confirmed to RPM that the Qashqai is in its final year on the market.
A steady career
The Qashqai, affectionately called Rogue Sport in the United States because of a name that is too difficult to pronounce, has been a product that is altogether appreciated in Quebec. In 2022, more Nissan Qashqai were sold in Quebec than Mazda CX-30 or Volkswagen Taos.
The vehicle’s reliability history is also worth noting. This one has shown its credentials in recent years, which made it a rather logical choice. Why then withdraw it from the market since the new version is already available elsewhere in the world? According to the statement RPM received from Nissan, the Qashqai simply wasn’t in the automaker’s future plans. The company says it wants to focus on prioritizing models that will bring the most benefit to its customers. According to our analysis, this decision would be more of a logistical nature, since the SUV is built in England or Japan, which can quickly increase transport costs while limiting product availability.
The Nissan Kicks now AWD?
The departure of the Nissan Qashqai leaves plenty of room for the Nissan Kicks in the manufacturer’s catalog.
Although smaller than the Qashqai, the Nissan Kicks remains at the forefront in the subcompact SUV category since it is very popular in Canada. However, the Kicks is not offered with all-wheel drive, an element of paramount importance in the segment.
It is therefore under the sign of an increasingly well-founded rumor that the next Nissan Kicks, which has already received the green light for a new generation to be marketed in North America, could be offered with all-wheel drive. Nissan has hinted that the upcoming Kicks will be larger in size and take the place of the Qashqai in Nissan’s catalog anyway. Obviously, nothing is validated by the manufacturer, but we bet that we will learn more in the coming months.
Nissan has confirmed that the Qashqai will continue to be produced until the end of the current year. This subcompact SUV therefore has a few months left on the North American market before it officially retires at the beginning of 2024.
