Time is quickly running out to buy the Nissan NP200 as new in South Africa.
The last compact bakkie on the market, the NP200 was discontinued this March owing to an ageing design that has spent some 16 years unchanged and would have been too pricey to upgrade to modern-day safety and technology standards.
Before closing the taps, Nissan built excess stock of its small workhorse as it was well aware of the persistently strong demand it enjoyed over the years.
However, looking at the monthly sales figures of the NP200, it appears that the warehouse is now starting to run dry.
This is how many units the bakkie sold in South Africa each month from its discontinuation to today:
- March – 2,679 units
- April – 258 units
- May – 297 units
- June – 476 units
- July – 353 units
- August – 132 units
As you can see, the NP200’s sales figures have been on an inevitable decline since it ended production, with the last available month seeing its lowest tally on record for 2024, alluding that leftover stock is nearly depleted.
Ergo, you’ll have to act fast should you still wish to scoop up an untainted example with a fresh warranty and service plan.
As per the Nissan South Africa website, the NP200 is still available in two trims priced at R245,300 and R266,000, respectively.
Both employ a 1.6-litre petrol engine good for 64kW and 128Nm, combined with a five-speed manual transmission.
They can carry up to 800kg in the rear bin as well as tow 650kg, with fuel consumption pegged at 8.1l/100km.
However, it should be noted that you might not get the exact model you want. Since the bakkie is no longer being assembled, you’ll only be able to choose from what’s available on the showroom floor, and nothing more.
A replacement is confirmed
Nissan this week confirmed that it has a replacement in store for the NP200 but that it’s not a direct successor, per se.
You see, the automaker initially had plans to introduce another small bakkie to our market which would be produced in partnership with Renault at a factory in Russia.
The latter’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 rendered exports of this vehicle nigh on impossible, and Nissan subsequently decided to abandon the model and look elsewhere for a similar product.
At a media event on 18 September 2024, Nissan South Africa confirmed that it is still investigating the possibility of launching a new compact bakkie in the country but that nothing is set in stone just yet.
In the meantime, it said it will launch a new version of the Magnite crossover that will serve a similar role as the adored NP200.
The so-called Magnite Move will be imported from India without rear seats thus allowing buyers to convert it into a commercial vehicle with a reinforced luggage bay, similar to what Hyundai does with the Venue and Grand i10 Cargo.
This will be Nissan’s most affordable offering in the commercial vehicle space until it can source a worthy successor to the NP200, the marque said.
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