Nissan released a facelifted version of the Navara for the South African market in November of this year, thereby putting doubts over the truck's future in Europe to rest. As it turns out, this is only a temporary facelift for the truck because Nissan has revealed plans to close its production in Barcelona, which means the Navara will be phased out before the end of the year in Europe.
"Production of the current-generation Nissan Navara for European markets will end when our Barcelona plant closes in December 2021, and sales will end in the course of 2022. This reflects the declining pickup segment in Europe and the switch many consumers are taking from pickups to our range of modern and efficient vans."
Nissan made the announcement to Automotive News in a statement.
According to Nissan, the decision reflects the Old Continent's dwindling truck sector, which had only 116,280 sales last year. Nissan had the option of importing the Navara from Thailand to Europe, but the board of directors had previously decided against it. The Navara was initially introduced in 1985, and it was even manufactured in Greece for the Greek market. The 2004 model is still regarded as pivotal in Europe's truck market, has changed it with a more comfortable interior, more amenities, and a more polished ride quality.
In Europe, Mercedes also attempted to steal sales from market leaders Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux with the X-Class, which was substantially linked to the Navara. It was phased out in May of last year because of poor sales and was replaced by the Renault Alaskan.