The compact SUV will be positioned below the Kicks and it will be launched during the course of this year in India
While its global alliance partner Renault has been performing well in the Indian market courtesy of models like Triber and facelifted Kwid in recent months, the same cannot be said for Nissan. The Japanese manufacturer never really got going in the domestic market despite setting a name for itself and is now looking to up the ante with a brand new product in a segment that it has never competed in.
Nissan and Renault’s products in the Indian range have high local content and consequently they have been aggressively priced against competitors. The company will be trying to leverage this opportunity and has confirmed entering the hotly contested compact SUV segment and the first teaser image has been released ahead of its global unveil.
In a press statement, Nissan has revealed that the compact SUV will be made for India and it builds on the brand’s global SUV heritage. The five-seater will be positioned below the Kicks and is said to be designed for “tomorrow’s journey as a feature-rich premium offering with stylish design”. It will incorporate Nissan’s latest technologies as part of Nissan Intelligent Mobility.
The compact SUV will likely share its underpinnings with the Renault compact SUV codenamed HBC. Believed to sit on the CMF-A architecture as the Triber and HBC, it will be powered by a new three-cylinder petrol engine internally known as HR10. The powertrain will be paired with either a five-speed manual or a five-speed AMT transmission.
The Renault HBC has already been spied testing in its near production avatar and it could be unveiled at the 2020 Auto Expo. Expect it to be rolled out of production lines by the middle of 2020 and thus the Nissan compact SUV may arrive ahead of it in the coming months. Nissan has made it clear that it will focus on bringing premium products to India but it definitely realises the importance of volume segments for sustainability.
Thus, the compact SUV comes on its own to garner volumes and it will compete against Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Hyundai Venue, Tata Nexon, Mahindra XUV300 and Honda WR-V. Expect the styling to feature Nissan’s signature elements like the V-motion front grille and it will likely ride on 16-inch alloy wheels in the top-end variants. The prices will likely be around Rs. 5.5-9 lakh (ex-showroom).
From the teaser image, we can readily see Nissan adapting dual-tone design as the Kicks. The side profile indicates the presence of raked windshield, slightly sloped roofline, sweptback sleek headlamps, horizontal LED tail lamps, muscular fenders, sporty character lines and creases, chromed window line, dark themed wing mirrors, and so on. In short, the side profile is reminiscent of the Qashqai SUV.