Nissan lines up three SUVs for India entry; X-Trail launch confirmed

Japanese carmaker Nissan on Tuesday showcased three sport utility vehicles (SUVs) — X-Trail, Juke and Qashqai — for the Indian market, announcing its big play in the UV segment that has shown the biggest growth during the last few years.

The company said it was testing X-Trail and Qashqai on the Indian roads. X-Trail will be the first to be launched, it said. In fact, this will be X-Trail’s relaunch after eight years as its earlier generations were sold in India till 2014.

Currently, the company sells two SUVs — Kicks and Magnite — in India. However, it is not among the top five players in the segment that has seen the biggest growth during the last few years. (see table)

Nissan said this month onwards, X-Trail and Qashqai are being put through their paces by its top engineers on the roads that surround the company’s manufacturing plant in Chennai. “The Indian market has boundless potential, and it is critical that we introduce the best vehicle line-up to align with what modern Indian consumers want and need,” said Frank Torres, President, Nissan India. 

“Following the success of the Nissan Magnite in India, we plan to strengthen our focus and leverage our expertise on high-quality SUVs that have become synonymous with our reputation,” he mentioned. 

Juke, which was also showcased on Tuesday, is currently being evaluated for the Indian market. 

India should consider taxing passenger vehicles based on emissions rather than length and engine size of vehicles, for a cleaner environment, Nissan India Managing Director Rakesh Srivastava told PTI on Tuesday.

“We can have different tax slabs based on the level of emissions," Srivastava said, adding the government already has a different tax structure for below four meters, above four meters, in terms of length and in terms of fuel.