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According to Khabar Khodro, the current generation Nissan Rogue hit the market in 2014 but its long-standing powertrain has been around since the vehicle’s initial release in 2008.
There have been no upgrades over the past 12 years in terms of power output but that could be changing soon.
According to an early document for fleet customers, the 2021 Nissan Rogue will be a redesign with upgraded power output. Horsepower will increase from 170 to 180 (+10) and torque will go from 175 to 184 (+9).
The increase to the Rogue's specs is greatly welcomed given that the crossover was at the back of the pack compared to other vehicles in the segment. With the upgrade, the Rogue is now on par with the Jeep Cherokee (180 horsepower), Subaru Forester (182 horsepower), and the Volkswagen Tiguan (184 horsepower). However, it still remains behind segment leaders like the Honda CR-V (190 horsepower) and Toyota RAV4 (203 horsepower). There is no indication that the boost in power comes from a different engine so we expect the 2.5-liter 4-cylinder to carry over.
Interestingly, the documents also indicate that the 2021 Rogue will be getting a 1 mpg increase in fuel efficiency. Although contrary to what would be expected with a power bump, it adds to the Rogue’s competitiveness in the segment. With the better fuel economy numbers, the 2021 Rogue would get 30 mpg combined which is equivalent to the CR-V and RAV4 and better than the Tiguan (25 mpg), Cherokee (26 mpg) and Forester AWD (29 mpg).
Unfortunately, there is no indication that the hybrid powertrain will return for the Rogue so the increase on the sole 2.5-liter engine option is good news for car buyers. However, the popularity of the RAV4 Hybrid and the release of the all-new CR-V Hybrid prove that consumers are interested in a hybrid option.
Although the new Rogue may be able to compete performance-wise, it still might not be a great deal for some buyers. Based on the MSRP for the current model, the Rogue is actually one of the more expensive options and with a redesign in the works, it’s likely that the price will only go up. For reference, the 2020 Rogue starts at $26,395, including destination, which is more than the Forester ($25,505), Tiguan ($25,965), and CR-V ($26,170). That said, Nissan typically offers strong purchase incentives on its vehicles.
COVID-19 May Cause Pickup Truck Shortage
Despite the high numbers of confirmed coronavirus cases and incredibly high unemployment figures in the United States, automakers are eager to get production back up to what it was before the pandemic. Apparently, they’ll have to go into overdrive, because dealers are expecting a shortage of pickup trucks on lots.
According to Automotive News, some of the incentives automakers are offering, especially ones from the Detroit 3, are continuing to draw consumers during the coronavirus outbreak and the downturn in the economy. Ram, Ford, and General Motors are all offering 0% APR for 84 months, which carries over to a lot of their respective pickup trucks. With trucks reigning supreme in the U.S., some dealers are worried that they don’t have enough supply to meet the upcoming demand.
"The pipeline is very dry,” Mike Maroone, CEO of Maroone USA, told the outlet. Maroone’s stores, which include five locations in Colorado and one in Florida, only have a 30-day supply of the popular Chevrolet Silverado. "That is a problem for us,” he stated.
GM is in an interesting position, because dealers already had a smaller number of available vehicles to sell because of the UAW strike that lasted 40 days last year. But it’s not just GM dealers that are worried about running out of popular models, dealerships selling new Ram and Ford pickup trucks are also concerned. The combination of North American plants being closed since the middle of March and great incentives have made popular trucks hard to find for consumers, claims the outlet.
Data from J.D. Power reveals that inventory of light-duty pickup trucks in the U.S. could drop to 400,000 units by the end of May, which is far less than the 700,000 units from last year. Going forward, automakers are going to have to get plants up and running as soon as possible. If they don't, J.D. Power believes that inventory of trucks could fall to 260,000 units by the middle of the year.
According to a report by Morningstar, dealership inventory of Silverado pickup trucks averaged 82 days’ worth in March, compared to 120 days’ worth last year. For Ram dealers, pickup supplies fell from 134 days’ worth last year to 114 days this year. Unlike the other two brands, the average dealer inventory for Ford’s popular F-Series pickup trucks rose to 111 days’ worth from 84 last year. The outlet claims that the automaker’s decision to only offer its 0% APR for 84 months on 2019 models has a lot to do with the increase.
"It’s going to get tight,” said Inder Dosanjh, dealer principal at Dosanjh Family Auto Group, which operates 17 dealerships in the San Francisco Bay Area. "We need to start seeing cars by the end of June.” If that’s not the case, he believes that his stores will run out of Ram and Silverado trucks.
Automakers, including the Big Three, haven’t introduced a formal restart date for their factories. An earlier report by the Wall Street Journal claimed that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, GM, and Ford were holding talks with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and UAW leaders to introduce a tentative restart date of May 18. If that were the case, dealers would be able to get more supply of popular trucks just in time for the boom they’re expecting to see.
