Nissan Z price rises by $2500, wait times still long in Australia

The Nissan Z sports car has been hit with a $2500 price rise for Model Year 2024 (MY24) examples – but no new features – amid wait times that remain long amid high demand.

Alongside the introduction of the track-focused Nismo variant, Nissan Australia has confirmed the regular Z Coupe will continue for MY24 priced from $75,800 plus on-road costs, up $2500 on the price for MY23 examples launched last year.

It is yet to be confirmed if current orders are protected from the price rises.

The 2024 model adds the option of a blue interior, and a new Site Orange exterior colour said to be inspired by the Fairlady Z 432 of 1969, a high-performance, Japan-market special edition of the original Datsun 240Z powered by the 2.0-litre engine from the original Skyline GT-R.

The new options join the existing black and black/red interior colour combinations, and eight other exterior colours: Rosewood Metallic (burgundy), Black Diamond Metallic, Gun Metallic, and five more with a black roof: Seiran Blue, Ikazuchi Yellow, Everest White, Brilliant Silver and Boulder Gray.

There are no changes to standard equipment levels for 2024, nor engine outputs or performance.

Nissan Australia says on its website “any new orders for Z are expected to be delivered in 2024,” amid “high demand” and – according to overseas media reports – production constraints related to the paint shop at the Tochigi, Japan factory where the Z is built.

In December 2022 Drive reported that Nissan Australia was holding more than 1200 orders for its new Z, which were predicted to be delivered by customers by the middle of 2023 – pending any additional delays.

Since the start of December 2022 Nissan Australia has reported just 281 Z coupes as delivered. Drive understands supply of the vehicle has not improved significantly, and the wait list is about the same as it was late last year.

The company has indicated in a media release that not all Nissan Z Proto Spec special editions planned for Australia have been delivered to customers.

The number of Z Proto Spec editions earmarked for Australia has not been disclosed; Japan and the US will get 240 examples each, however there’s no guarantee Australia will receive the same amount.

Drive reported in December that Nissan Australia was at one point holding more than 500 orders for the Proto Spec, suggesting at least half the customers in the queue could miss out on the special-edition vehicle.

Nissan Australia has advised about 60 per cent of orders the company is currently holding for the Nissan Z are manual-transmission models.

This figure is down from the 70 per cent quoted at launch late last year, as the company has delivered cars at the head of the queue – and taken new orders at the end of it.

It is not unusual for the first orders for new sports cars to heavily bias manual transmissions – as the most hardcore of enthusiast buyers, who in many cases prefer a manual, are among the first in the queue – before the automatic becomes more popular in the years after launch.

Since deliveries began in August or September 2022 – to the end of July 2023 – Nissan has reported 365 examples of the latest Z as sold.

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