Nissan confirms launch of compact SUV, rival to Brezza and Venue, in 2020

NEW DELHI : Nissan may have found it especially tough to negotiate the turbulent waves that have slammed against the Indian auto industry in the past several months but the company is looking at the horizon with renewed hope and plans to ride out the storm on the back of a compact SUV which will be launched this year.

Nissan already has the Kicks and Terrano in the Indian market but both SUVs largely failed to capture the imagination of car buyers. The upcoming compact SUV may change all of that and the Japanese company says it will pack it to the absolute brim with features.

Underlining its popular global models like Patrol, Pathfinder, Armada, X-Trail, Juke and Qashqai, Nissan claims the compact SUV will be a strong example of its engineering capabilities. It also says that the vehicle will adhere to the philosophy of 'Make in India, Make for the World.'

Apart from a long list of features, expect the vehicle to also feature the latest technology and Nissan says it will boast of a capable drive.

In a teaser image released by the company, the yet-to-be-officially-named SUV sports strong character lines on its side profile, large wheel arches and a floating back roofline.

Engine options are not known yet but Nissan could have an eye on direct rivals such as Venue from Hyundai and Vitara Brezza from Maruti Suzuki in deciding the best way forward to corner some of the lucrative market share in the compact SUV segment. While the Venue has been quite a hit story considering its plethora of features, the Brezza is expected in a petrol variant as early as the first quarter of 2020. There are other notable rivals as well like KUV 300 from Mahindra, Ford EcoSport and Tata Nexon. Even Skoda and Volkswagen reportedly have plans to storm the compact SUV segment, making for exciting times ahead.