Nissan Australia is looking to introduce the Juke hybrid offered in Europe to improve light SUV sales.
The Nissan Juke light SUV could be culled from the car maker’s line-up in Australia if we can’t get the hybrid version sold in Europe, Drive understands.
The Juke exists in a relatively small segment as things stand, as Australian buyers opt for larger SUVs in greater volumes, so adding the hybrid powertrain offered overseas could be key to its future.
Speaking to Drive, Nissan’s Managing Director for the Oceania region, Andrew Humberstone, suggested there is untapped potential for a hybrid in the Juke's competitive set.
“It's an interesting segment. We don't do a lot of volume. I think there's an opportunity potentially for an HEV [hybrid electric vehicle] in that space, which is something that we're looking at,” he told us.
“Part of what we're looking at in our next five years is which products work, and where do we get the critical mass, and is there sufficient demand?
“And if you're bringing the wrong engines or the wrong technology…it is more about making sure you bring the right product. So if we can get an HEV, I think there's room for it, but I think that's kind of the story we need to look at.
However, as keen as the brand is to have a hybrid Juke, Humberstone also pointed to the external factors which play a part in making a local arrival possible.
“It's also about exchange rate and cost of production, as volatile as it is, which doesn't make it easy, but we're in no rush to delete models. We want to be represented in that space.”
It may be a case of hybrid or bust for the quirky-looking Nissan Juke, as it struggles to compete with segment leaders such as the Mazda CX-3 and Suzuki Jimny.
Although neither of those models currently offers hybrid, with plans for a Jimny by 2030 and CX-3 around 2027, the Toyota Yaris Cross – which comes only with a hybrid powertrain in Australia – is also a key competitor.
So far in 2025, there have been 296 Nissan Juke SUVs sold locally compared to 5390 CX-3s and 3849 examples of the Yaris Cross.
Over the last five years, the Nissan Juke has never managed to exceed 2400 sales annually, posting 1674 units in 2024 versus 18,461 for the CX-3 and 8206 for the Yaris Cross.
The Juke first arrived in Australia in 2013 with the previous first-generation after being revealed the year prior.
A facelift for the second-generation Juke arrived in Australia late last year, bringing an updated look and more technology with prices starting from $28,890 excluding on-road costs.
Australian versions of the Juke use an 84kW/180Nm 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine matched to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and front-wheel drive, missing out on the hybrid system derived from the Renault Captur that is available in Europe.
Meanwhile, plans for overseas markets do include the next-generation Juke electric vehicle for Europe to join the Leaf, Ariya and Micra.
Electrifying the Juke could be an important part of Nissan’s success in our market, to help it offset potential NVES fines racked up by the sale of thirstier models such as the large Patrol off-road SUV and Navara ute.
In Australia, Nissan currently offers just the X-Trail medium SUV and Qashqai small SUV with hybrid ‘ePower’, with the fully-electric mid-sized Ariya due to come later this year.
“Our hybrid strategy is we have ePower, and that's been very successful for us,” Humberstone told Drive.
When asked if sales of the two ePower models would be enough to balance things out when car makers begin to get fined under the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) for emissions, Humberstone said it will “come down to the volume”.
“With Ariya, yes. It’s down to the volume. It depends on the volume that you sell, but that's the calculation that you have to have, which is where you are in terms of your optimisation in terms of production and consumer demand,” Humberstone said.
“At the top end in terms of Patrol, from an NVES point of view, [you have to consider] are you busy buying credits or what does your own portfolio allow you in terms of managing ePower between Qashqai and X-Trail and looking at the introduction of Ariya, which is now time for it to come to market. And then obviously in fiscal year ’26 is then Leaf as well.
“So with that portfolio, I think we balance it quite well, and we should be okay.”
A born-and-bred newshound, Kathryn has worked her way up through the ranks reporting for, and later editing, two renowned UK regional newspapers and websites, before moving on to join the digital newsdesk of one of the world’s most popular newspapers – The Sun. More recently, she’s done a short stint in PR in the not-for-profit sector, and led the news team at Wheels Media.
