Nissan Rogue Sport: A conquest machine?

NEW YORK -- Nissan is already rattling the market with sales of its Rogue crossover. Last month, the compact was the biggest-selling non-pickup nameplate in the U.S. industry -- for the second time this year.

Now Nissan is planning a new campaign. It expects the new Rogue Sport iteration to become a conquesting machine.

"We're predicting that the Rogue Sport will deliver 70 percent conquest sales," Christian Meunier, Nissan North America's senior vice president of sales & marketing and operations, told Automotive News during the New York auto show. "That's how we will determine its true success -- by how well it attracts people from competitor brands."

Nissan plans to market the Rogue Sport as a distinct model once sales are solidly underway this summer. The company points out that it is not merely a different trim package. Although the Sport is based on the same global platform as the Rogue, it is actually a different vehicle, sold as the Qashqai outside the United States. It is slightly smaller, with a different engine, different handling characteristics and a different target market.

Nissan will aim younger with the Sport -- seeking buyers in the 25-35 age group -- and it will be priced lower than the current Rogue. 

Nissan announced the 2017 Rogue Sport's pricing last week, listing the base price at $22,360, including shipping. The 2017 Rogue has a base price of $24,760, including shipping. 

Nissan hopes the Sport will draw most of its buyers out of small sedans, and mostly from the import side of the industry. Meunier predicted that Honda Civic intenders will constitute a large share of the customer base. 

"The Rogue Sport will be about new people coming to Nissan from different brands and different segments," he said. 

The first Rogue Sports will reach showrooms in May, and volume sales for the Japanese import will start in June and July.

Using a model variation to attract more crossover/SUV buyers has become a common play. Automakers are pouring into every segment of the crossover and SUV spectrum as consumers shift away from car nameplates. 

The Rogue has taken advantage of that historic shift. For the first three months of this year, Nissan sold 101,421 Rogues, a 47 percent increase from a year earlier. 

Meunier believes that once the Rogue Sport is in full production, it has the potential to deliver a sizeable share of total Rogue volume. 

"The trend isn't going to stop," he said. "And we want our unfair share."