A few months ago it surfaced that Nissan hasn’t started work on a successor to the current Nissan Z, which prompted rumors that the iconic Z could soon disappear. While the current Nissan Z has been around since 2009, Nissan is now saying that it isn’t killing it off.
“We’re not going to walk away from the nameplate, and it’s certainly something we’re studying and working through right now,” Michael Bunce, vice president of product planning at Nissan North America, Inc. recently told AutoGuide.
Even if Nissan is truly committed to keeping the Z around, it remains to be seen how long it will last, at least in its current form. Last year Nissan sold 4,614 units in the U.S., which isn’t even a blip on the radar compared to its rivals, like the Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro. Ford sold almost 82,000 Mustangs last year.
While the Nissan Z may not sell very well, Bunce seemed enthusiastic about it staying around, “It’s always been part of Nissan heritage. And I think it’s fair to say, even if you’re not a car enthusiast and you mention 240 or 370, most people would say ‘Nissan’ or ‘Datsun’ right after that.”
He continued, “We know that any investment you make in Z does have a payback in terms of its impact to our brand. The car is an “important asset” and “it’s not going anywhere.”
Source: AutoGuide
