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Marton Pettendy4 Jun 2015
NEWS

Nissan Patrol will be up to $25K cheaper

Arrival of Infiniti's QX80 luxury version will bring massive price cuts for Nissan's slow-selling Patrol

Nissan Australia has revealed it will slash prices of its flagship Y62 Patrol SUV by up to $25,000 when it releases a revised model range comprising just two models by August.

As we've reported, the imminent Patrol price cuts are designed to make way for its mechanical twin, the Infiniti QX80.

The hulking QX80 luxury SUV was originally due here in early 2014 before Nissan Australia went cold on the idea of competing for a handful of buyers with the similarly V8 petrol-only Lexus LX 570.

But the hefty Patrol price cuts also follow glacier-like sales of the seven-seat SUV since it was launched here in February 2013, when former Nissan Australia chief Bill Peffer Jr insisted it would attract "hundreds [of customers] a month".

Last year the petrol-only Patrol found 1859 homes for an average of 155 a month, while its only direct competitor – Toyota's petrol and diesel powered 200 Series LandCruiser – notched up 9067 registrations. To May this year, the Patrol has attracted 803 buyers for an average of 160.month, while the LandCruiser tallied 3754.

Nissan's current Australian CEO Richard Emery told motoring.com.au he was comfortable with those sales numbers but said Patrol pricing will be dramatically lowered to reflect the actual prices currently being paid when a rationalised line-up with just two models arrives in July or August.

"We don't need to sell more," he said. "We know what the price should be. Our intention is to align RRPs [recommended retail prices] with transaction prices. Nobody has paid full price."

Officially, the three-variant Patrol range comprises the entry-level ST-L for $82,690 plus on-road costs, the mid-range Ti for $93,390 plus ORCs and the flagship Ti-L for $114,490 plus ORCs – all fitted with a 298kW/560Nm 5.6-litre petrol V8 and seven-speed automatic transmission.

There are 66 new or low-kilometre Y62 Patrols currently for sale at carsales.com.au, many of which are 2013 models and all of which are advertised with prices well below the manufacturer's list price.

A number of brand-new ST-L models are available for $62,990 drive-away (about $20,000 lower than the list price), while the Ti can be had for $76,990 drive-away ($16,400 less than retail) and a range of Ti-L vehicles are offered at $89,990 drive-away – at least $24,500 less than the MLP.

Therefore we expect the cheaper, simplified Patrol line-up to open at less than $70,000, undercutting the entry-level LandCruiser GX diesel ($73,990 plus ORCs) and a high-spec version to be priced under $90,000 to compete with the LandCruiser VX (from $90,990 petrol, $93,990 diesel).

Meantime, the Infiniti QX80 should top the Japanese luxury brand's SUV line-up around the same time, available in a single specification priced to compete with the $134,700 LX 570 at under $120,000.

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