Currently reading: Nissan boss rules out new Primera

Even though Nissan has returned to the small family car segment with the new Pulsar, officials say a new Primera isn't part of the current model plan

Nissan won’t make another large family car like the Primera, Nissan Europe chairman Paul Willcox has told Autocar, even though it has re-entered the small family car market with the Pulsar.

“We took the right decision on D-segment,” Willcox said, of deciding not to replace the Primera but instead focus on crossovers and SUVs. 

He said that although returning to the C-segment with the Pulsar was the right thing to do – because that market is worth five million sales across Europe per year – the same wouldn’t be true for a car like the Primera.

“D-sector has fragmented,” he said, noting that smart non-premium manufacturers have moved away from conventional large family saloons and hatches, because they’ve come under intense pressure from Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

“What’s left is compressed into the fleet sector,” Willcox said. “We were very brave [to abandon the Primera] but it was absolutely the right decision.”

Instead, the Pulsar will fill the final hole in Nissan’s range.

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Matt Prior

Matt Prior
Title: Editor-at-large

Matt is Autocar’s lead features writer and presenter, is the main face of Autocar’s YouTube channel, presents the My Week In Cars podcast and has written his weekly column, Tester’s Notes, since 2013.

Matt is an automotive engineer who has been writing and talking about cars since 1997. He joined Autocar in 2005 as deputy road test editor, prior to which he was road test editor and world rally editor for Channel 4’s automotive website, 4Car. 

Into all things engineering and automotive from any era, Matt is as comfortable regularly contributing to sibling titles Move Electric and Classic & Sports Car as he is writing for Autocar. He has a racing licence, and some malfunctioning classic cars and motorbikes. 

Add a comment…
erly5 28 September 2014

Agree with Mini2

I always liked the last Primera and thought it to be a very underrated car, but judging by the style of the new pulsar, Nissan can't be trusted to do it's replacement justice. In response to Shrub, despite what Nissan would have you believe, everything about the Note screams mini mpv. I agree with your comments about the Micra, it's such a sub-standard supermini that it's competing at the budget end of the market and deserves so much better.
Shrub 27 September 2014

Can't help but question

the recent direction of Nissan. They seemed to be doing everything right a few years ago but now we have a poor Micra, so poor that they have effectively used it to relace the Indian built Pixo as a city car rival because it can't compete with Polo, Fiesta etc. The Note has been moved down to supermini hatch status to compete with rivals that the Micra should be dealing with and thus they have abandoned the popular mini MPV market. Nissan, get yourself a decent city car, replace the current Micra with one that does justice to the previous two generations; replace the new Note with a mini MPV design that can compete with Hyundai IX20, Vauxhall Meriva, Ford B-Max etc and get some definition back into your lower range. Lovely new Qashqai though (except the squashed glasshouse).
rmcondo 27 September 2014

He doesn't seem to be very

He doesn't seem to be very supportive of and enthusiastic about his own Infiniti Q50, not surprisingly.