Nissan Australia backs Qashqai's future while studying Kicks small SUV for a growing entry-level gap

Milette: a future for the Qashqai, and Kicks under study

Nissan Oceania managing director Steve Milette has committed to the UK-built Qashqai remaining in Australia, but has left the door open for the related Kicks small SUV to join the line-up, in an interview with CarExpert. "There is a future for Qashqai in our country, for sure," Mr Milette told the publication, which also reported he acknowledged the Kicks announcements for Europe. "Kicks, there were announcements of Europe and production in Europe. It's a product that we are studying. We are looking at it, no matter what the source is. It is built in a few plants, and so it is something that we're studying." ¹

Importantly, Mr Milette told CarExpert that the Kicks would not necessarily arrive as a Qashqai replacement, and that Nissan is also looking at other options that would be a more entry-level SUV for the local market. "But we're also looking at other options that would be more entry-level SUV for our market," he said. When asked whether that includes the Tekton, a lightly restyled Renault/Dacia Duster sold in markets such as India and South Africa that do not receive the second-generation Kicks, his answer was a clear local rejection: "For Australia, not necessarily, no. It's not something that we're actively pursuing." ¹

A Kicks built almost everywhere else

The second-generation Kicks is now produced in Mexico and Brazil, entered production in Japan in 2026, and Nissan announced in September 2026 it would invest £170 million (A$320.2 million) in its Sunderland plant in the UK to build the model for that market and Europe in e-Power hybrid guise, as CarExpert reported. That right-hand-drive production makes the Kicks a more realistic candidate for Australia than previously, though a Nissan Australia spokesperson told CarExpert in September it was "examining the business case" for the new-generation Kicks locally but had nothing further to share about a potential introduction. ¹⁵

Sizing gives a clear picture of where the Kicks would sit below the Qashqai if introduced. CarExpert reports the Kicks measures 4365mm long, 1800mm wide and 1610-1615mm tall on a 2655mm wheelbase, making it 60mm shorter, 35mm narrower and 10-15mm lower than the Qashqai, with a 10mm shorter wheelbase. It is based on a version of the CMF-B architecture that underpins the Juke, axed in Australia earlier in 2026. ¹⁵

Equipment and powertrain details vary by market, and the UK-bound versions will use Nissan's e-Power series-hybrid system, which CarExpert detailed: a 1.4-litre three-cylinder petrol engine that powers a 105kW/315Nm electric motor rather than sending drive to the wheels, with all-wheel-drive variants adding a 50kW/140Nm rear motor. Some global markets also offer the Kicks with turbocharged 1.0-litre three-cylinder and naturally aspirated 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engines, and there is a more rugged-looking Rock Creek version. Available technology includes a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 12.3-inch touchscreen, active blind-spot assist, a surround-view camera and ProPilot, which combines adaptive cruise control with lane-centring. ¹⁵

Why the entry-level gap has widened

The Kicks study comes against a sharp local sales slump for the Qashqai. CarExpert reports Qashqai sales are down 72.8 per cent in Australia year-to-date, amid the axing of more affordable petrol-powered variants and the changeover to an updated e-Power hybrid, and that Nissan Australia delivered just 4478 Qashqais last year, around a third of the volume the model was generating a decade ago. Nissan moved to a hybrid-only Qashqai line-up for 2026 with the upgraded e-Power drivetrain, which saw the base price jump by more than $10,000 despite the addition of a new base ST-L e-Power grade. ¹

With the Juke and petrol Qashqai variants gone, the larger X-Trail is now Nissan's most affordable model in Australia, priced from $38,305 before on-road costs in petrol-powered ST guise, as CarExpert reported. Chasing Cars has separately documented the wider affordability picture, noting the brand is without a small, affordable car for the first time since it debuted here, and quoting Nissan global corporate executive Richard Candler as saying "Kicks could be an option for sure" while restructuring the portfolio for Australia, with right-hand-drive production among its advantages. Cars24 has reported the same structural view, noting a well-priced Kicks could plug the gap below the X-Trail. ¹⁸⁶

Broader growth plans and other candidates

The Kicks question sits within a wider portfolio push. GoAuto reports Mr Milette told it at the New Zealand launch of the front-wheel-drive X-Trail E-Power and X-Trail Rock Creek that Nissan is in Australia "to thrive" rather than survive, despite sales shrinking 33.6 per cent in the first eight months of 2026 and 21.6 per cent in 2025, and that the brand is "adopting a challenger mindset" rather than shrinking its ambitions or dealer network. ²³

Potential new Nissans beyond the incoming Y63 series Patrol originate from the car-maker's Dongfeng partnership in China, GoAuto reports, such as the battery-electric NX8 medium SUV, the N7 medium sedan and a plug-in hybrid Frontier Pro ute that could inherit Navara nomenclature. Among these, the ute is most likely to be greenlit first and quickest to arrive, and GoAuto has separately reported Mr Milette wants a plug-in hybrid ute on sale "as soon as possible". Neither publication identifies a small SUV from that pipeline suitable for Australia; CarExpert notes Dongfeng Nissan sells only the first-generation Kicks and a facelifted previous-generation Qashqai in China. ²³⁹¹

The open questions: which Kicks, and does it pencil

No launch is confirmed, and Nissan has shared no pricing, specification or timing for an Australian Kicks; Cars24 notes the local team "has been careful not to overpromise" and that it remains speculation for now. Mr Milette put it plainly to CarExpert: "Whether it pencils, that remains to be seen. But, as you said, it is a growing portion of our industry in Australia." ¹⁶

The exact specification for a right-hand-drive Kicks also remains unsettled. Chasing Cars reported earlier in 2026 that an ideal Australian scenario would be the second-generation Kicks with either the turbocharged petrol or an e-Power drivetrain built in right-hand drive, but noted that exact specification did not then exist. Since then, CarExpert has reported the Japanese-built second-generation Kicks debuted in 2026 with third-generation e-Power standard across all grades, priced from ¥2,999,700 (A$26,544) in Japan, with claimed combined fuel economy as low as 3.9L/100km for the entry front-wheel-drive X grade. Mr Milette told CarExpert in an August Q&A that the Kicks, now introduced in Japan, was "always an option that we're looking at" for Australia. ⁸⁴⁷