We have already reported that Nissan India will be launching a crossover SUV based on the Duster with under its own badge. Now the company has officially confirmed the launch of same but it’s scheduled to go on-sale by the end of 2013. The Nissan badged Duster has been code named NH79 and the company has already started working on it.
Under the hood, the Nissan SUV based on the Duster to be powered by the same 1.5-litre K9K turbo diesel engine while the 1.5-litre petrol engine too is expected to be carried straight away from the Renault Duster without any changes. And it is likely to be cheaper than Renault Duster (if the hierarchy between the two brands is followed).
As per the sources, Renault could delay the sharing of the Duster with Nissan until 2014, as this SUV is seen as the ticket to building Renault’s brand presence in India. The company has already sold over 4,000 Dusters in September and sales are likely to further increase going into the festive season.
Mr. Colin Dodge, Nissan’s executive vice-president while speaking to Autocar said that Nissan’s version of the Duster will go beyond badge engineering. “We’ve got quite a differentiated car and the differences are far more significant than on the V-platform products (Micra/Pulse and Sunny/Scala). The hood and the fenders have differences and the bumpers are different too. But it’s more than just a bumpers and grille change for sure,” said Dodge.
Also see – Nissan version of Duster is on the way!
Source – AutoCarIndia
