Nissan, the Japanese carmaker, has announced the addition of 6 new cars in their India portfolio by 2026, and all of them are going to be SUVs.
Why it’s a big deal?
Earlier this year, Nissan announced their plans to invest around Rs 5,300 Cr in India for the upcoming years, which is quite surprising considering their performance in India has been quite “mediocre”, but this is all the result of the hope given by their recent SUV Magnite that’s been performing quite well. That’s why Nissan also planned to introduce 6 new SUVs in the Indian Market in the upcoming years, which is a treat for SUV and Nissan lovers.
Nissan Announces 6 new cars
The first product they will introduce is going to be their flagship product in India, the X-Trail. This full-size SUV, whose latest Gen model was shown last year, will be competing against the likes of Toyota Fortuner, Skoda Kodiaq, and VW Tiguan. This model is speculated to be bought in as a completely built unit (CBU) car.
The plan may seem simple, but this is where it gets interesting. Nissan’s next launch will be a global EV SUV, speculated to be the Ariya EV. What’s amazing about this car is its impressive range of 580-610km. Granted the increasing popularity of EVs in India, this car can be a major hit or miss, depending upon its price-to-feature ratio.
Reportedly, the company also plans to launch an affordable 7-seater MPV based on Renault Triber. Additionally, they also seem to launch an entry-level EV SUV, which will take the upcoming Tata Punch EV head-on, and also the Nissan Qashqai, a mid-size practical SUV that is being sold in international markets currently and is expected to come in India with a 1.6-litre diesel engine with a 6-speed manual transmission. Now, it’s a huge gamble to launch a diesel car in the upcoming years in India, due to the Govt proposal of a ban on Diesel cars. Oh! And we have saved the best for the last.
Nissan – Creta’s Rival
Now, you might wonder why a separate section was created for this. Well, even though it’s all under Nissan’s plan, it deserves the hype because every car brand tries to compete with the current SUV champion in India, the mighty Hyundai Creta. Okay, that was a bit overhyped, but it’s well worth talking about Nissan’s attempt to compete against Creta, with the Juke, a mid-size SUV. The Juke which is presently available for sale in international markets has a 1.6-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine, and if launched in India, may even come with a turbocharged engine, given the trend. The Juke if it joins India, will have some other players to compete with like Kia Seltos, Grand Vitara, and Skoda Kushaq.
Overall, Nissan has a solid plan to make their comeback In India and gain a solid foothold here, but there are other factors here to determine their success and it’s hoped Nissan doesn’t mess up and end up just like Ford in India.
