Production of the NP200 at Nissan’s Rosslyn plant in Gauteng is finally coming to an end this March after an unprecedented 16 years in South Africa.
The product has officially reached the end of its extended lifecycle and has fallen out of tune with the market in terms of safety features and technologies.
The good news is that the NP200 will still be available as new from dealers for the next few months until stock is depleted, from which point onwards it will be relegated to the pre-owned sector.
Unfortunately, there is no vehicle currently in the pipeline that will assume the same role as the NP200 in Nissan’s South African portfolio.
In October last year, the automaker revealed that it did have a replacement in planning that would have been built on a shared Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance platform.
However, due to the war in Eastern Europe that is now stretching into its third year, this is no longer a viable option because the model in question is manufactured in Russia which is unable to produce sufficient volumes for export to other countries.
“In line with our African strategy, securing a second model for production in South Africa is a priority and a study into an alternative vehicle is already progressing,” said the domestic arm of Nissan at the time, but no further updates have been provided thus far.
This means that, after the NP200 is delisted later in 2024, the local market will be void of a compact bakkie for the first time in decades as Renault recently also pulled the plug on its plans to introduce the Duster-based Oroch to our roads.
From start to finish the NP200 was a front-runner in sales in South Africa, illustrating the demand for such a bakkie and the void it’s going to leave once it’s gone.
As recently as February 2024 it still ranked as the ninth-most popular car in the country, as well as Nissan’s best-selling vehicle, accounting for 1,276 of the brand’s 2,739 sales.
Grab one before it’s gone
At present, the NP200 is on sale in two specifications starting at R234,000 and R253,800, respectively, which includes a 6-year/150,000km warranty.
Both variants are driven by a 1.6-litre petrol engine in partnership with a five-speed manual gearbox that puts out 64kW and 128Nm at a combined fuel economy reading of 8.1l/100km.
Maximum payload capacity for the bakkie is pegged at 800kg and it’s capable of towing up to 650kg behind it.
There’s not a lot to write home about in terms of creature comforts in the Nissan, as the entry-level version brings cloth/vinyl seats, manual windows, a four-speed fan and air recirculation system, ABS, two airbags, and 15-inch steel wheels – while the pricier NP200 comes with a manual aircon and plastic covers for its rims.
If you want a radio and speakers, though, that will be extra regardless of which one you end up going for.
Being the smallest vehicle in its segment, the NP200 measures just 4,499mm long, 1,735mm wide, and 1,554mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2,905mm and ground clearance of 177mm.
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