Pulsar Output Under Way, to Hit Spanish Showrooms in October

MADRID – The new Nissan Pulsar is set to reach dealers here beginning in October.

The model, which will be offered only in a 5-door version, marks the first C-segment vehicle to be produced by the Japanese automaker at its Zona Franca plant, close to Barcelona harbor. Industry forecasts put the C-segment at about 4.8 million units in Europe for 2014.

Nissan invested about €114 million ($148 million) in the plant for Pulsar production. Initially the automaker was targeting 80,000 units per year, but that has been reduced to 64,500 for 2015, likely a result of the weakening in the European market’s recovery over the past few months.

Low-volume output was launched in July alongside the Renault Trafic and Nissan Primastar vans, which were discontinued in early August. The new-generation Trafic/Primastar will be built at Renault’s Sandouville, France, plant.

Slated to replace the Trafic/Primastar at the Barcelona plant is a next-gen Navara 1-ton pickup. However, demand for the current Navara and its Pathfinder SUV variant remains relatively high, so Nissan is delaying launch of the new pickup until mid-2015. The automaker is investing €80 million ($103.6 million) in the plant for Navara production.

The delay also has put a halt on creation of 1,000 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs planned as part of the Navara launch.

In 2013, the Spanish plant assembled only 131,900 vehicles, but with the NV200 van and electric e-NV200 that are assembled exclusively, plus the Pulsar and the future pickup, Nissan Spain sources say Zona Franca annual output could reach 200,000-210,000 units in 2015-2016.

Maximum capacity is 250,000 vehicles, meaning there would be room for another 40,000-50,000 units for Pulsar or Navara, or Nissan could add flex capacity for another model built elsewhere.

Initially, the new Pulsar will be offered with two engine choices, a 115-hp turbocharged 1.2L DI gasoline 4-cyl. and a 110-hp 1.5 dCI diesel. The gasoline engine is rated at 117 g/km of carbon-dioxide emissions and the diesel is listed at 94 g/km.

Early next year a 190-hp turbocharged 1.6L gasoline engine will be added to the lineup.

Three trim levels are offered: Vista (standard), Acenta and Tekna.

Standard equipment includes air conditioning, 5-in. (13-cm) center screen, power mirrors, tire-pressure monitoring, six airbags, stop/start and Bluetooth connectivity.

Acenta adds alloy wheels, dual-zone climate control, automatic lights and wipers, smart key with start button and a leather-wrapped steering wheel and gearshift.

Tekna tacks on various driver-assist systems, such as Trajectory Active Control that uses braking to emulate a limited-slip differential.