Nope, the Nissan Skyline will live on as a sedan, assures Nissan VP

Rumours were swirling around Japan that Nissan will discontinue its sedan line-up to focus on crossovers and SUVs. Currently, Nissan has four sedans on sale in Japan, including the legendary Skyline which was given an update in 2019.

Despite the update, the latest Skyline is essentially an Infiniti Q50 that was once sold here.

This led to the ongoing fear of the “sedan-pocalypse” where sales of the traditional three-box design are slipping in most global markets including Japan.

However, during the launch of the Nissan Note Aura, Nissan’s executive vice president, Asako Hoshino, told the press that the rumours were not true and that “Nissan will never abandon the Skyline”. It's in the 55:25 mark of the video above.

This is a pretty swift and direct action against a rumour that has already made car enthusiasts especially fearful of a future where everyone only drives crossovers. Just to make it clear, we don’t hate crossovers but we would prefer more variety in choices.

But the fear that Nissan could abandon the Skyline was justified. Toyota had announced that the long-running Crown nameplate will continue on as an SUV for its next generation. Both the Skyline and Crown are among the longest-running nameplates in the world.

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Both models aren’t direct rivals as the Crown focuses more on luxury while the Skyline emphasizes on sportiness. The Skyline is best remembered as being the basis of the beloved GT-R, a car that defined the PlayStation generation.

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Unlike Toyota however, Nissan is in a more dire state financially but the brand has been trying hard to reverse its fortunes with a slew of new models including the all-new Rogue/X-Trail and the aforementioned Note.

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As Hoshino took the stage to quash rumours directly as well as relieving some panic on fans of the Skyline, this is seen as a power move from a brand still hurting from the scandal faced by its ex-CEO. It’s a win not just to enthusiasts but also to Nissan’s image.

Also read: Once Japan’s strongest, Nissan is now weakest. How did it end up like this?