[ChiragM]

The Toyota RAV4 and Nissan Rogue have been in the top 10 best-selling vehicles of 2020 so far. On that list, the Rogue is 10th best-selling at 167,403 through October. The RAV4 is fourth with 302,574 units shifted, based on sales numbers from Goodcarbadcar.net

Nissan is so confident that its Rogue is worthy of consideration alongside the Toyota, that it will let prospective customers check them both out for themselves. Automotive News reports that Nissan dealers are going to have RAV4 test cars on hand for customers to compare at the dealerships. It’s a bold strategy that Nissan thinks will bring more sales for the Rogue.

Nissan has been struggling of late. Rogue’s place in the top 10 best-selling cars is great, but it’s still down nearly 39 percent from the previous year. And Nissan’s U.S. sales are down 30 percent across the board.

Toyota says it is flattered by the idea. Toyota’s North American sales chief, Bob Carter, said in a statement:

“We are confident their dealers and customers will appreciate the quality, value, versatility and safety features that have made the RAV4 the No. 1-selling SUV in the United States.”

The plan is for Nissan dealers to have RAV4 models on hand through December. The company expects that more than half of its dealers will participate. Not everyone thinks this is a good idea, though. J.D. Power’s Tyson Jominy told AN that he believes the plan could backfire and drive sales for the RAV4.

“If you can keep customers at your dealership without allowing them to leave, it will result in incremental sales. The risk is that Nissan will indirectly contribute to selling more Toyota RAV4s. A percentage of customers are inevitably going to value the differences between the models differently than expected.”

Obviously, Nissan is confident in its product. We’ll see if that confidence pays off.

Source

[HKap]

They're being unnecessarily bold. Anyone who enjoys driving will not buy the CVT equipped Rogue over the really awesome RAV-4. The RAV-4 is the highest selling car in its segment for a reason. Brilliant packaging, decent to drive and does brilliant mileage in the hybrid form... it also has the Prime variant that makes 300bhp! Toyota has more variants and something for everybody! Comfort, rugged looks, power, and a traditional gearbox. It's also a lot more reliable than the Rogue and holds its value the best. If I were in the market for a SUV that size, I'd pick the RAV 4 with my eyes closed. The only car that I would even consider is the CX-5 or the Tiguan.

[benbsb29]

Such an interesting sales strategy. I'm curious to see how it fares.
Has a similar approach been adopted by any other manufacturers?

[GTO]

This is amazing! Shows a lot of confidence in the product. I wish we saw such aggressive marketing tactics out here - they are few & far between. Indian car makers follow the traditional routes of promotion only. Hardly anyone thinks out of the box here.

Originally Posted by HKap

Anyone who enjoys driving will not buy the CVT equipped Rogue over the really awesome RAV-4. The RAV-4 is the highest selling car in its segment for a reason.

I hear that the new Nissan CVTs aren't as lame as the earlier ones. On a related note, when it comes to CVTs, I have absolutely no problem with Honda's.

[landcruiser123]

Talk to any rogue owner, and he’ll tell you that Nissan are the real rogues. I know someone who had a busted CVT at 50k miles in his 2015 Rogue. He’s not alone at all.

When they get a RAV4 into the showroom, Nissan are only going to sell to the rental agencies. There was a time when Nissan was on par with Toyota on reliability, but that golden period seems ages ago.

[srishiva]

Should be flattering for Toyota. But not sure how many people will be able to differentiate.

They might like the idea and Nissan's confidence and go ahead with their booking

[Nalin1]

Wow!. What a strategy!.

Obviously, they are so confident that they have adapted this bold approach.

Will be very interesting to see the results.

Is this the same Nissan that we see in India or is it someone in disguise?

[am1m]

Sorta like an updated form of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepsi_Challenge

Applied to cars, of course. Hope the end-result is not the same: no-real-difference-who cares! (Just kidding, Nissan/Toyota fanboys don't descend upon me, I'm sure there are numerous significant differences!)

[HKap]

Originally Posted by GTO

I hear that the new Nissan CVTs aren't as lame as the earlier ones. On a related note, when it comes to CVTs, I have absolutely no problem with Honda's.

It has improved but most reviews suggest its still not close to a regular TC gearbox at higher revs. It's hard to get rid of the typical characteristics completely.

[warrioraks]

This is brilliant tactics. Especially from a marketing perspective. With one announcement, they have pegged their product against the market leader. Most folks considering Rogue would certainly look at RAV4, but vice-versa might not be true. And this is what Nissan is trying to change.

Nissan should definitely get more footfalls due to this strategy. Way to challenge the market leader and get themselves noticed.

If I am the customer at Nissan showroom looking for a Rogue, I really would not care whether a Toyota RAV4 is available with them or not (even they announced it on the news).
So in a practical scenario, if Nissan has a RAV4 available at their showroom, sounds great. If they don’t have it, no hard feelings. I would not hold it against them and would just go to a Toyota showroom to get one. And in the process, I would have given Nissan a chance to sell me a Rogue.

[SchrödingersCar]

Originally Posted by HKap

They're being unnecessarily bold. Anyone who enjoys driving will not buy the CVT equipped Rogue over the really awesome RAV-4. The RAV-4 is the highest selling car in its segment for a reason. Brilliant packaging, decent to drive and does brilliant mileage in the hybrid form... it also has the Prime variant that makes 300bhp! Toyota has more variants and something for everybody! Comfort, rugged looks, power, and a traditional gearbox. It's also a lot more reliable than the Rogue and holds its value the best. If I were in the market for a SUV that size, I'd pick the RAV 4 with my eyes closed. The only car that I would even consider is the CX-5 or the Tiguan.

The previous generation of the RAV-4 did not appeal either aesthetically or drive-ably to me. The new one (I think it was launched mid last year) looks way better. And I actually liked the old avatar of the Rogue; the new one looks unnecessarily bulked up. Both the Rogue and RAV-4 are uninteresting to drive, but if you want a hassle free ownership and higher/safer resale value, obviously Nissan cannot beat Toyota.
Aesthetics aside, from a driving perspective, I would pick the Mazda CX-5 any-day (over either of these 2) which has amazing road manners and dynamics albeit a slightly underwhelming engine. It is actually almost car/sedan like to drive. Interior quality and safety were better for the Mazda too.

[rrsteer]

Nissan has nothing to loose here. At worst it will prove that RAV4 is a superior product - which going by the sales number, most buyers already agree with.

[abhinavinc]

It may be an even greater idea if they only stock the Base Model RAV4 in the Nissan Dealerships to compare! Will wait to see how it goes.

[charanreddy]

Well.. a customer has already walked into your store and you want to divert his/her attention to a better selling competitor product. Doesn't sound too bright IMHO.

Time will tell if it works for Nissan, but I were a betting man, I would bet on this idea backfiring !

[tchsvy]

From my experience these campaigns don't work. Right after my post graduation, I joined a reputed two wheeler manufacturing company, as part of an induction program, during the CPC (Company-Products-Competition) analysis, we were handed spec comparison cards comparing company products with the market leader's products. And all the sales force were told to compare the products and push the notion that company's products were offering more at less price point compared to the market leader. So the sales force took those cards, took the advice and implemented the same in their respective showroom, after one month I asked one showroom guy about those and he told me they have experienced a drastic sales dip in that month. Reason? Whenever these people started comparing the market leaders products with company's two wheelers, the customers took the unsolicited comparison in negative way and it only made them think the market leaders products might be superior to these hence they are unnecessarily pushing these products.

Compare only when the customer starts to talk about them.