EXCLUSIVE: Nissan will introduce the Qashqai and the X-Trail

Nissan India has been testing several new products for the Indian car market and its focus has been the SUV market. The Japanese manufacturer at the moment is testing the Qashqai and the Juke in its Chennai plant. However, we have confirmed news from our sources that the Juke won’t be making it to our market, as it will be an expensive buy and won’t be competitive with size vis-a-vis price.

The Qashqai however is one product that the company has been testing, be it the outgoing generation or the newly launched one. The popularity of SUVs is on the rise for the Indian market and Nissan will want to capitalise on this. At the moment, the only SUV it sells is the Terrano, which is also not a fully Nissan built vehicle, and a Renault-owned design. The Nissan X-Trail that was on sale has been discontinued and now Nissan is looking to replace it with something that is more relevant for the Indian car market.
 
Generally, SUV buyers in India prefer a seven seater and that is one reason why the X-Trail didn’t succeed. While speaking to Andy Palmer, Chief Planning Officer, Nissan Motor Corp on his recent visit to India, he mentioned that, “Nissan X-Trail is the ideal SUV for India. However, if we introduce it here, the pricing needs to be aggressive and high amount of localisation is needed. It is a seven-seater and contemporary.”
 
On further speaking to him, we learnt that the Qashqai and the X-Trail are based on the same platform and the former sits below the latter in pricing. Our sources confirm that Nissan is looking at getting the Qashqai to India. There is no doubt in this that Nissan will also get the X-Trail for more parts sharing and cost reduction. 
 
At the moment, Nissan isn’t focusing on these SUVs and we can see them may be launched in India sometime next year. The Qashqai wil be the first to make an entry and then the X-Trail will follow. At the moment, Nissan is busy working on the Datsun Go+ for the Indian car market as Datsun will get 50% of the sales for Nissan. The Datsun brand will be the low cost brand for the Japanese manufacturer and more focus will be levied on this. The Go has helped them double their current sales already.