The new Renault Duster has been finally spotted on Indian soil almost a year after its global debut. Expected to go on sale in the second half of 2025, the new Duster will be pitted against segment heavyweights like the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara and Toyota Hyryder, among others.
- Duster will be the first of four SUVs to launch in India
- It will sit on the modular CMF-B platform
- The engine line-up will be petrol-only
Renault Duster line-up to have four SUVs in total
Renault’s alliance partner, Nissan, will also have its own version of the Duster, which will have cosmetic differences and Nissan styling cues to maintain its unique brand identity. Last year, the brands confirmed the India launch of these models, which will also be exported. At that time, Renault had previewed the Duster via teaser.
The teaser had confirmed that the Duster for India will have some styling differences from the one sold abroad, with the front grille having a large Renault logo instead of Renault lettering as seen on models sold overseas. On the other hand, the yet-to-be-revealed Nissan SUV will come with L-shaped connected LED daytime running lamps with a light bar running across the nose.
Additionally, there are plans to introduce the seven-seat versions of these SUVs in future, starting with the already-revealed Renault Bigster. These models will rival the likes of the other three-row midsize SUVs, including the Hyundai Alcazar, MG Hector Plus, Tata Safari and Mahindra XUV700. The three-row iterations of the two SUVs will likely have some distinctive styling elements and a slightly longer wheelbase but might carry over the same powertrain(s).
All four SUVs will sit on the Renault-Nissan alliance CMF-B platform, which will be tweaked for markets like India. The SUV will be heavily localised right from the start in order to achieve competitive pricing. In order to achieve greater economies of scale, these SUVs will also be exported to multiple overseas markets.
Renault Nissan SUVs to have petrol engines only
These SUVs will likely have the 1.3-litre HR13 turbo-petrol engine, which churns out 156hp. In India, this unit was also seen in the previous-gen Nissan Kicks and the Mercedes A-Class sedan. The Duster line-up could also have a 1.0-litre turbo-petrol mill from the Kiger and Magnite, with power bumped up slightly. Additionally, there are talks of a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol for entry-level variants.
All four SUVs will be petrol-only, and there are no plans to bring back the popular K9K diesel engine that powered the previous Duster and Terrano in India.
New Renault Duster, Nissan SUV India launch timeline
Renault and Nissan’s Creta rivals will be launched first, followed by their 7-seater versions. Renault and Nissan have together confirmed that both SUVs will be introduced in close succession, and this new product introduction will kick off by late 2025 in India.
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