Why is Nissan Sylphy only available in Petrol in New Zealand?

If you’ve been shopping for a Nissan Sylphy and noticed every single one runs on petrol, you’re not imagining things, and there’s a pretty simple explanation.
The Sylphy isn’t actually sold as a brand-new car through Nissan dealerships here. Everyone you’ll find on a New Zealand forecourt is a used import, shipped over directly from Japan.
And here’s the thing: when Nissan built the Sylphy for the Japanese domestic market, they made it almost entirely petrol-powered. So whatever Japan drove, that’s what we get. No hybrid surprises, no electric variants, just straight-up petrol, because that’s what was available on Japanese roads when these cars were new.
It’s one of those quirks of the New Zealand car market. We rely so heavily on Japanese used imports that our options are essentially shaped by what Japanese buyers chose years ago, not what Nissan might offer a brand-new buyer today.
So if you’re after a Sylphy, petrol is your only real option, and honestly, for most Kiwi drivers who use one as a reliable daily commuter, that’s perfectly fine.
Here is the price table for all used models of Sylphy