Following a lukewarm reception, plans for a facelifted Murano have been put on hold
- The new Nissan Murano appears to be struggling to establish itself in a crowded market.
- Despite strong initial sales, inventories have piled up, resulting in a five-month supply.
- The company has reportedly cut some production and paused work on a 2028 facelift.
The 2025 Nissan Murano is a significant improvement, but we couldn’t help from feeling a little disappointed when we drove it earlier this year. In fact, we said the model was a “curiosity that probably shouldn’t exist due to the simple fact that Nissan only sold 19,316 units in the United States last year.”
That sentiment is seemingly ringing true as a new report suggests the crossover is struggling to find buyers. That’s a tad surprising as first quarter sales were up an impressive 84.1% to 8,702 units.
Review: The 2025 Nissan Murano Is A Missed Opportunity
Despite a strong start, it appears Muranos are starting to pile up on dealership lots. Citing Cox Automotive data, Automotive News is reporting Nissan has more than a five month supply and that’s a 15% increase from the 133-day supply in March. Doing the math, it sounds like we’re looking at 153 days worth of Muranos.
That’s a lot and Nissan has reportedly decided to cut production by 21% to help match supply with demand. The automaker is also said to be offering dealers $1,000 to $2,000 for each Murano they take.
Like the slow selling Toyota Crown Signia – which only found 2,806 buyers in the first quarter – the Murano is positioned as a street-focused, near luxury vehicle. Pricing starts at $40,470, which means it’s smaller and more expensive than the Pathfinder.
While the model comes nicely equipped, it also has some odd omissions. One of the biggest is the absence of ProPILOT Assist 2.1, which is offered on the value-focused Rogue but not on the brand’s flagship crossover.
That isn’t the only issue as we felt the model should have come with a hybrid powertrain, instead of the 2.0-liter VC-Turbo that develops 241 hp (180 kW / 244 PS) and 260 lb-ft (352 Nm) of torque. We’re not the only ones as an insider told the publication, “a large share of the Murano’s customer demographic, middle-aged women, prefer a hybrid powertrain.”
Nissan knows they have a problem as an official admitted they got “aggressive” with their forecasts and “front-loaded a lot of production.” That appears to have been dialed back, while incentives have been ramped up.
It remains to be seen how everything will shake out, but Automotive News saw a memo telling suppliers that development on the 2028 Murano facelift has been paused. That program is expected to be reviewed next month and its verdict could have significant implications.