Renault-Nissan alliance is going very slow in the fast growing Indian car market. However, the alliance won’t leave our market and has announced fresh investment to introduce a wide range of new cars and SUVs in the Indian market in the next 3-4 years. Renault will bring back its hugely popular Duster nameplate in our market. Adding to it, the alliance will introduce new 7-seater SUVs along with the updated versions of its existing SUVs including the Magnite and the Kiger.
- New Renault Duster
- New Renault Kiger
- Renault 3-row SUV
- Nissan Magnite Facelift
- Nissan mid-sized SUV
- Nissan 7-seater SUV
Renault has announced to introduce the new Kiger SUV in our market in the next couple of years. The new model will continue to be based on the existing CMF-A modular platform that also underpins the Kwid and the Triber. It is most likely to feature the existing 1.0L NA petrol and 1.0L turbo petrol engines with manual and automatic gearbox options.
Renault will also introduce the next-gen Duster mid-sized SUV in our market in 2025. In fact, the third-gen Dacia Duster has already been revealed for the European markets. The SUV will be sold under Renault nameplate in the markets where Dacia is not present. The new model is designed and developed on Renault’s CMF-B modular platform that underpins a wide range of models in the Renault-Nissan alliance.
Adding to it, the new gen Renault Duster will come with fuel efficient hybrid powertrain in India. It will come with 3 petrol engine options – two of are with hybrid tech. The India-spec model is likely to get a strong hybrid powertrain, which combines a 94hp, 1.6L petrol engine with a 49hp electric motor, and a starter generator. It is packed with a 1.2kWh battery pack, which supports regenrative braking. The SUV can purely run up to 80 per cent of the time in the city on electric only. It also comes with a new TCe 130 engine, which comprises of a 1.2L 3-cylinder turbo petrol engine with a 48V mild-hybrid system that offers a combined power output of 130hp. Power is transmitted to front wheels via a 6-speed manual gearbox. This version also comes with an all-wheel-drive layout as an optional. It is offered in 4 driving modes – Snow, Mud/Sand, Off-Road and Eco.
The French brand will also introduce a new 7-seater SUV in our market. This 3-row SUV will rival the Tata Safari, Hyundai Alcazar, Mahindra XUV700 and others in the same category. This SUV is most likely to be based the Dacia Bigster concept, which will also enter the production sometime in late 2024. The new model will be built on Renault-Nissan alliance’s CMF-B architecture. It is also likely to come with a strong hybrid engine.
Similarly, Nissan will also introduce the new Magnite facelift in our market sometime in 2024. The new model will receive design changes and an upgraded interior with more features. It is likely to receive the existing 1.0L 3-cylinder NA petrol and a 1.0L 3-cylinder turbo petrol engines. Both manual and automatic gearbox options will be on offer.
Nissan will also have its own version of the new-gen Duster SUV in our market in 2024. The new SUV will rival the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Honda Elevate, Maruti Grand Vitara and others in the category. It will be designed and developed on Renault-Nissan alliance’s CMF-B modular platform and will come with a strong hybrid powertrain. It is also likely to come with an AWD setup, which will make it a direct rival to the Maruti Grand Vitara AWD. Similarly, a new 7-seater SUV based on the Bigster concept is also likely to arrive in our market by 2025-26. This SUV will challenge the Safari, XUV700 and others in the C-segment SUV category.
