NISSAN looks set to return to the pick-up-based SUV segment with a new high-riding wagon based on the Navara ute that could help improve its sales fortunes in Australia.

A series of leaked images surfaced this week of the new Navara-based SUV at its Chinese joint-venture Zhengzhou Nissan factory where it will be built for that market.

In China and other markets, the SUV is likely to carry the Paladin name that is already used on an SUV based on the old D22 Navara, but it is unclear if this name will be used in other markets.

While Nissan has been reluctant to confirm the existence of the Navara-based SUV, Renault-Nissan senior vice-president (LCV business unit) Ashwani Gupta hinted to Australian journalists at last month’s Tokyo motor show that such a vehicle was in development and that we could see it at next year’s Beijing motor show in April.

“I don’t know what was said before but what I can assure you is Nissan is concentrating and Nissan is extremely competent on frame-based vehicles,” he said.

“We have frame-based trucks and we have frame-based SUVs. We are going to cover each and every segment of frame. This is for sure. Now when? I think you will have to wait a little bit more. And please wait until Beijing motor show where we will be showing something on frame.”

Nissan was once a leader in the ladder-frame SUV market, offering the rugged and off-road-capable Navara-based Pathfinder across three generations from the mid-1980s.

It abandoned what was then a niche corner of the large SUV segment in 2013 when it replaced its D40 Navara-based Pathfinder with a new family-friendly seven-seat SUV that uses a monocoque chassis and is sourced from the United States.

An updated version of the Pathfinder is Nissan’s sole entry in the segment and competes with other similarly positioned soft-roaders such as the Toyota Kluger, Mazda CX-9 and Kia Sorento.

If Nissan Australia elects to introduce the Navara-based SUV, it would compete directly with other ladder-frame wagons including the Ranger-based Ford Everest, Colorado-based Holden Trailblazer, D-Max-based Isuzu MU-X, Triton-based Mitsubishi Pajero Sport and HiLux-based Toyota Fortuner.

Nissan is looking to fill gaps in its line-up in an attempt to boost its dwindling sales in Australia which have taken a hit in recent months after the company – under previous managing director Richard Emery – discontinued the bulk of its passenger car line-up, including the Micra, Pulsar, Altima and slow-selling Leaf EV.

The only passenger cars on its roster now are the GT-R and 370Z performance cars. To the end of October this year, Nissan has only sold 710 passenger cars in Australia – less than Porsche – while its SUV haul of 32,433 units is not far off the same period last year.

VFACTS October sales figures show that Nissan’s sales of 46,936 are down by 15.3 per cent this year and is sitting in eighth place overall behind Volkswagen.

The X-Trail and Qashqai SUVs are sales stars for Nissan in Australia, running fourth and third in their respective segments, but the Pathfinder and Navara sit in the middle of their segments.

While the car-maker – which is now led by Canadian Stephen Lester – is planning to introduce a number of new passenger cars in the coming years to fill the gaps, including replacements for the Pulsar and Altima, its strength clearly lies in SUVs.

Sales volume for ute-based SUVs are not huge, but they are growing as more buyers look for a vehicle with the practicality of seven seats and genuine off-road ability.

So far this year, the five ute-based offerings make up 22 per cent of sales in the sub-$70,000 large SUV segment.

Leading the charge is Isuzu’s MU-X on 6457 sales to the end of October, representing a 13.7 per cent lift over the same period last year.

It is followed by the Pajero Sport on 5958 sales (+24%), the Australian-developed Everest with 3725 (+26.3%), Holden’s Trailblazer on 2651 (-4.6% compared with the Colorado 7 it replaced) and the Toyota Fortuner with 2229 (-36.7%).

While the Everest and Fortuner only arrived in late 2015, the other three have been on the market for longer in current- or previous-generation guise, and have grown their respective market share significantly.

VFACTS sales figures show that the Mitsubishi Challenger (which was replaced by the Pajero Sport in late 2015) found 1739 homes in the full calendar year 2014, while the Colorado 7 recorded 1508 sales and the MU-X captured 4625.

If Nissan Australia gives the Navara-based SUV the green light, it might not be the silver bullet to cure its sales woes, but judging by the increasing interest in ute-based SUVs in Australia, it could provide the company with about 2000 additional sales per year, on top of the 5000-6500 units the Pathfinder averages in the same segment.

By Tim Nicholson