Renault-Nissan plans to boost sales in India over the coming months by introducing new models based on the same platform. The company doesn’t care about sales cannibalisation amongst its own brands as long as overall sales increase. This is the reason why we see a Renault badged Micra (Pulse) and Sunny (Scala). So the obvious question that arose was when would Nissan rebadge the Duster? The company had earlier considered the Juke for India, but being a 4-seater, it did not meet the requirements set forward by the company.
We had a brief talk with the top management of Nissan India who told us their next focus would be on the compact SUV segment. The company has looked at the alternatives and is already working on the Nissan branded Duster. The vehicle will have slightly different styling along with more features and will be priced higher than the Renault Duster. The Nissan branded Duster will be launched in 2013. Unlike the Renault Duster, Nissan is seriously working towards a 7-seater version of this crossover.
The Renault Duster is currently available in two diesel engine options and a petrol engine option. The diesel variants are powered by the renowned 1500cc K9K series of engines producing 85 and 110 PS respectively. The petrol is powered by a 1.6-litre K4M motor which produces 104 PS of peak power. The Duster range currently starts at Rs 7.19 Lakhs (Ex Delhi). The Duster has already roped in 10000 bookings, which shows the demand for such a kind of a vehicle, thus Nissan cannot ignore such a segment.
