Nissan’s Alliance partner Renault has just celebrated a super-successful first year of the Duster in the Indian market, and we’re just weeks away from the reveal of the new Nissan Terrano. But that’s not where the SUV onslaught stops. Nissan is reportedly working hard to bring in the Euro-market Qashqai crossover to sit above the Terrano in the company’s Indian line-up.
Nissan’s executive vice president Andy Palmer has said that the company is “going after the Indian market like a steam train”, and along with launching the Datsun brand, it is also focussing on expanding the Nissan model line-up. The company was earlier considering the Sylphy, a saloon to take on the likes of the Toyota Corolla, as its offering in the Rs 12-20 lakh segment. But given the decline of that segment in India and the increasing popularity of SUVs, those plans have been scrapped in favour of the Qashqai.
In fact, SUVs are a big part of Nissan’s Indian future, with the X-trail in line for Indian local assembly, and the company’s luxury brand Infiniti waiting in the wings with its range of attractive SUVs too.
Dipan Sur
Viraaj Bhatnagar
Glenn Noronha
Dhruv Dhaka
