Juke and Pathfinder Axed as Nissan Culls Australian SUV Range

Nissan Australia is officially "trimming the fat" in its local showrooms, confirming that both the Juke light SUV and the Pathfinder large SUV have been axed from the lineup.

Speaking to CarSauce in a wide-ranging exit interview before heading to a new global role in Paris, outgoing Nissan Oceania Managing Director Andrew Humberstone revealed that the brand is ditching its niche players to focus on high-volume "pillars" in a "diabolical" economic climate.

Humberstone was blunt about the reality of maintaining a cluttered range, explaining that managing slow-selling models had become a "financial and logistics burden" that the company could no longer justify.

"In addition to that, we’re removing Juke, we’re removing Pathfinder," Humberstone told CarSauce.

"The small volume kind of product... the exchange rate is diabolically [bad]. Globally, I can't find longevity on that model. It’s a great product... but it’s just basic economics."

This "cleansing" of the portfolio wasn't a simple administrative decision; Humberstone described going "15 rounds" with global chairmen and CEOs to ensure the Australian business remained focused on profitability rather than just variety.

The decision to axe the Pathfinder was particularly influenced by its North American production base and lack of hybrid technology, which made it a liability under the federal government's New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES).

When asked about spy photos of the new Mitsubishi Pajero Sport and the possibility of Nissan building a ladder-frame off-road SUV on that same Triton platform - effectively a rugged new Pathfinder - Humberstone was categorical in his dismissal.

"I don’t see it, I don’t see it, certainly not in the plans at the moment, certainly not in my plan," he told CarSauce.

"That said, one thing we’ve learned in this market for sure is; agility is everything."

He instead pointed towards Nissan's joint venture with Dongfeng in China as a "more palatable solution" for turning over the product portfolio more quickly than has historically been the case.

The streamlining also extends to Nissan's electric pioneer, with the next-generation Leaf officially put on ice for the Australian market.

"At the moment, we’re indefinitely pausing on Leaf, because where the market is," Humberstone confirmed, as reported by CarSauce.

Instead of a full-scale EV push, Nissan will lean heavily on its e-Power hybrid technology, which the brand expects to account for 75 per cent of its sales in the coming years.

This leaves the 2026 Navara (D27) as one of the few remaining internal combustion heavyweights in the stable.

While the new ute is "more efficient" than the outgoing D23, it has been stripped back to a dual-cab, 4x4 automatic-only range to maximise efficiency and profitability.

To differentiate it from its Mitsubishi sibling, Nissan turned to local experts Premcar to develop three specific suspension tunes.

Stay tuned for our full Nissan Navara review, coming soon.