New Nissan to debut on track

 

New Altima will appear on the grid before it arrives in showrooms.
One of the three cars that will line up on the grid of a revitalised V8 Supercar championship in 2013 will be a new nameplate Australians have not heard of - and it won't be on sale until later in the year.
Nissan is taking the unusual step of racing the new American-inspired but made-for-the-world Altima sedan more than six months before the production version it's based on will arrive in dealerships.
The bold move is part of an ambitious plan to build awareness of the Nissan brand and the crucial new Altima model - Nissan says it will outsell mid-sized rivals such as the Subaru Liberty, Honda Accord Euro and Mazda6 - in time for a launch later in 2013.

Advertisement: Story continues below

"We will be utilising V8 Supercar racing as a mechanism for fast start for Altima in Australia," say Ian Moreillon, Nissan Australia executive general manager, national sales and fleet. "To establish the nameplate, to establish the car, the recognition, the overall awareness of the vehicle, which is critical from a marketing perspective ... from the first race in Australia."
Moreillon admits it is a unique way of promoting a new model, and runs the risk that people won't make the association or won't be bothered waiting until the car is in dealerships.
"I don't think anyone has ever done it like that before in Australia," he says. "Later in the year it will become available for the general public to buy."
Australia will be the first place the new Altima will be raced.
Moreillon says the V8 Supercars program - estimated to cost more than $10 million - will cement the Altima as a brand well before dealers have to start selling them.
It's not the first time in Australian touring car racing that a car on the grid hasn't been sold here.
Ford famously - and successfully - campaigned the European market Sierra in the late 1980s and early 1990s when it had no plans to sell them here, instead using it as a branding exercise - and a way to win races.
No doubt Ford and Holden will be taking notice of the unusual marketing strategy.
Each has been reducing its spend on V8 Supercars - once estimated at up to $15 million for each brand - and each could potentially be in a position in the next five years to have Commodore and Falcon replacements to promote.
Nissan is understood to be considering coinciding the Altima's Australian launch with either the Bathurst 1000 in October or the 2013 Melbourne motor show in June, depending on availability of supply.
Despite being unceremoniously ousted from the showcase category of Australian motor sport 20 years ago - after its Skyline had won back to back Bathurst races in 1991 and 1992 - Nissan is confident the new investment is worth it.
"There's only one reason we're going into V8 Supercars - that is to sell cars and make money," says Moreillon.
The new Altima will be officially unveiled at the New York motor show this week, but images have already leaked on to the internet.