The new Nissan Murano is proving to be a serious strategic mistake for the struggling Japanese automaker. Its smooth lines and on-road focus have made it a bit of an odd man out in today’s automotive market, which clearly favors boxier, off-road-focused crossovers. Now, Nissan is telling suppliers it’s pausing work on the Murano’s refresh that would come around in a couple years.
Despite the fact that the Murano was redesigned late last year, the company already has five months’ worth of Murano inventory. That’s a 15% jump from the 133-day supply it had in March, according to a report from Automotive News. That’s roughly in line with the fact Nissan now expects to sell 47,410 Muranos during the 2025 fiscal year, 21% fewer than it projected in May. Because of this biff up, Nissan is offering its dealerships between $1,000 and $2,000 just to put a Murano on its lot.
The Murano was supposed to be Nissan’s first real move into the upscale crossover segment — meant to be a halo vehicle for the brand that lifted the tide of the rest of its model lineup. That sure as hell did not happen.
The market says no, thank you
The real issue the Murano faces is the idea that it’s sort of in a no man’s land when it comes to today’s automotive landscape. For the most part, big sellers in the high-ish-end crossover space have three rows and some degree of off-road readiness. The Murano, on the other hand, only has two rows of seats, and if you showed it a light dirt trail, it would most likely fall to pieces. Its somewhat controversial styling (which I personally really like) isn’t helping matters either. These days, on-road premium crossovers are almost exclusively electrified vehicles, but the Murano doesn’t even have a hybrid option.
Instead, it has a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder that replaced the 3.5-liter V6 of the old car. It’s more efficient, but it only puts out 241 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque. Power is down about 19 hp, but torque is up 20 lb-ft. Still, Automotive News says customers have perceived the updated vehicles as both underpowered and noisier. That’s probably because the new car weighs about 4,400 pounds, whereas the old car weighed around 4,100 pounds.
The market is reacting to these oddball choices in a big way. Murano sales are down 78% from their peak of 86,953 vehicles in 2016, Automotive News reports. Just two vehicles, the Mazda CX-70 and Toyota Crown Signa (both sort of odd vehicles in their own right), had lower sales in 2024. Of course, that duo was new to the market for the year. Here’s a little bit from ANÂ on how the Murano ended up in the state it’s in:
Nissan initially planned to launch the current-generation Murano with a V-6 engine and Nissan’s e-Power hybrid system. However, the hybrid proved not to be fuel efficient for U.S. highway driving because of its size and weight.
Nissan then considered replacing the Murano with an all-electric model, which eventually was rebranded as the Ariya.
Nissan finally delivered the fourth-generation Murano in the fourth quarter, about a decade after the previous redesign.
“Nissan let the model age so much that loyal Murano customers left the brand,” said a dealer, one of several interviewed who asked not to be identified.
Still, sales for the new car are a vast improvement over the 2024 model. U.S. Murano sales jumped 84% in the first quarter of 2025 to 8,702 vehicles, representing a 5% share of the midsize crossover segment. That’s up from 2.7% in 2024.
What comes next
It’s tough to say where the Murano goes from here. Sure, it’s a sales success compared to the car it replaces, but it’s hardly making waves in the overall market. I want you to think really hard about whether or not you’ve even seen a new Murano. You’ve maybe seen one or two. That’s not good.
In a June 3 memo, Nissan told suppliers it stopped development of the 2028 Murano as it reviews the program altogether. A person who spoke with AutoNews says the car is “not in a clear segment anymore,” and it’s not “as necessary in the lineup, especially with the Pathfinder doing well.”
Just imagine where Nissan would be right now if it followed the trend of the industry and offered up a modern Xterra instead. I’ve got to assume there are folks at Nissan having these exact same thoughts.
