No direct replacement is in the cards.
Nissan enjoys a decent demand for its high-riding machines but it seems that one member of the portfolio could be retired very soon. The aging Rogue Sport will reportedly go out of production by the end of this year with no direct replacement on the horizon planned. Nissan has already informed its dealers that the crossover will be discontinued.
Automotive News quotes a memo sent to Nissan dealers, which includes the information that the production of the Rogue Sport will cease in December this year. The model will remain available for a few more months until the dealer stock is cleared early next year. The automaker will provide parts support through 2033. The Kicks and Rogue will effectively replace the Rogue Sport in the range.
“With the all-new Rogue and recently redesigned Kicks, we will continue to cover this part of [the] market effectively,” Scott Shirley, Nissan Vice President, explained in the letter sent to dealers. “We are also able to invest more resources in our current vehicle lifecycles and next-generation products.”
The Rogue Sport was launched in the United States in 2017 as a slightly modified version of Europe’s Nissan Qashqai. Positioned below the Rogue, it was a more affordable and smaller alternative to the SUV but when the Kicks was launched, it basically annihilated a large portion of the Rogue Sport’s sales with its youthful personality, nearly as spacious interior, and lower price.
Meanwhile, in Europe, Nissan launched a brand new generation of the Qashqai back in 2021. It is slightly larger than its predecessor and has a new range of engines, including a new hybrid powertrain. At the time, it was believed that the new Qashqai will morph into the second-generation Rogue Sport but it seems that those assumptions were wrong.
The larger Rogue was recently revamped riding on a new platform and featuring many new technologies. Last year, it was also upgraded with a new three-cylinder engine. The Kicks, Nissan’s entry-level crossover in America, is expected to be redesigned in 2024.
