Deciphering tactics: Nissan Philippines drops Almera VL Turbo N-Sport, pushes VE Turbo N-Sport model for 2023

Nissan Philippines has discontinued the Nissan Almera VL Turbo N-Sport model for 2023 upon checking the brand’s local website. 

This move is a surprise as the Japanese automaker has yet to make a prior official public announcement about dropping the top-of-the-line model from the Almera variant lineup. 

The new Nissan Almera VE N-Sport is now the top-of-the-line model for the sedan’s local lineup.

It is priced at ₱1,049,000, making it roughly ₱49,000 more affordable than the Almera VL Turbo N-Sport model it replaces. 

Why, o why?

For context, the Almera in VL trim sold 410 units in 2022. This was the second best-selling variant of the nameplate, which in total sold 1,467 examples last year as NPI's sole passenger car offering. However, the VL's sales were down 100% from its 2021 performance. 

The VE turbo, meanwhile, was the top-selling  Almera variant, particularly in CVT trim. A total of 700 units rolled out of the lot in 2022. 

One likely reason for NPI to drop the VL variant is to push out slow-moving inventories of the VE trim instead.

Another could be market demand. Since the majority of Almera customers are fine with the specs on the VE, it makes sense for Nissan Philippines to cater to the demand and forego a variant that is seeing a downward trend. And it can do this by adding cosmetic trims to the VE, as it did with the VL.

VE with a twist

The new variant still sports the N-Sport appearance package, giving it an N-Sport grille, new N-Sport bumpers, silver-finished door mirrors, and N-Sport emblems. It also received an update to its lighting kit with LED front fog lights, now standard equipment. 

The VE N-Sport received the N-Sport black soft panel dashboard for its interior, but it does not come with the 60/40 leather folding seats found in the previous VL model. Instead, it gets black fabric seats and a fixed second row.

One caveat of this new model is that some safety features have been removed. Instead of having four standard airbags in the VL N-Sport, the VE N-Sport only gets two for the front. 

However, other features such as a 360-degree camera, front autonomous emergency braking, and vehicle stability control are still present in the sedan.

As for its color options, the Nissan Almera VE N-Sport can be had in Cayenne Red, Premium Corona Orange, Pearl White, Gun Metallic, Brilliant Silver, and Galaxy Black.

Time will tell if the N-Sport package will indeed help the lower-spec VE's sales.

The 2023 model lineup of the Nissan Almera is now as follows:

Almera 1.0 EL Turbo MT – ₱779,000
Almera 1.0 VE Turbo MT – ₱949,000
Almera 1.0 VE Turbo CVT – ₱999,000
Almera 1.0 VE Turbo N-Sport CVT – ₱1,049,000

Was it a wise move for Nissan Philippines to streamline the Almera lineup?