Nissan have reportedly postponed the launch of their upcoming compact SUV, known as the Magnite. The Magnite, which was set for an official launch here in August 2020, will now be coming in January 2021. The postponement of its launch is due to the fear of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown.
The lockdown ensured that there was no activity going on in the Renault-Nissan plant in Tamil Nadu. This put a halt to production and testing of the Magnite before its possible launch. Not only Nissan, Renault also were looking on launching a compact SUV to the Indian market.
In fact, Renault have named it the Kiger and it was undergoing its testing phase before the lockdown was imposed. This meant that the Kiger, slated to launch during the festive season may also arrive later than expected. Both the Kiger and Magnite are based on Renault-Nissan’s localised version of the CMF-A+ platform.
These may come powered by a new 1.0 litre turbo petrol motor. This engine, when developed is likely to produce at around 95 BHP of power along with 150 Nm of torque. Both these compact SUV’s may be launched in manual and automatic transmissions soon.
Now coming to the Magnite, the car is set to be Nissan’s first ever entrant to the flexible end of the market. This end includes segments formed later like the compact SUV, compact sedan and premium hatchback ones. Thus, the Magnite is undoubtedly set to be one of Nissan’s most important products for the Indian market in recent times.
When launched, it will lock horns with the Hyundai Venue, Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Tata Nexon, Ford Ecosport, Mahindra XUV300 and of course the Renault Kiger. It is reported that the Magnite will be launched at a starting price of below Rs.6 lakh. This would draw some crowd by making it a very interesting pick in a usually cut-throat segment.
NOTE: Image of fourth-gen 2021 Nissan X-Trail aka Nissan Rogue used for representational purpose only.
To read more on Nissan’s India SUV, Click here
Also see: Nissan Magnite gets rendered ahead of Diwali launch
GALLERY: 2021 Nissan Rogue (Nissan X-Trail)
Source: AutoCarIndia
