Nissan Motor Co, Japan's No. 3 automaker, said it will start selling its X-Trail sport-utility vehicle in India in the middle of this year in an effort to match expansion plans by Japanese rivals Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co.
The X-Trail will probably be priced at "about 2 million rupees(US$44,000)," according to Nissan General Manager Yasuyuki Hashimoto. The car will be powered by a 2.2-liter, turbocharged diesel engine generating 136 horsepower.
Tokyo-based Nissan, which has invested more in China than any other foreign automaker, will compete in India with General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co and Honda, which began selling SUVs in Asia's third-largest economy last year. Rising urban incomes and falling vehicle finance rates are stoking demand for bigger and more powerful vehicles in India.
"Our future India plans will be decided after the performance of the X-Trail," Hashimoto said at a press conference.
X-trail shipments to India from Japan will start once Nissan receives approval from the Automotive Research Association of India. Nissan unveiled the model at the Auto Expo in New Delhi.
The X-Trail, which went on sale in Japan in 2000, is sold in more than 180 countries. In Taiwan, Yulon Motor Co (裕隆汽車), the nation's third-largest automaker, which assembles Nissan vehicles, unveiled two 2-liter X-Trail sports-utility models in December 2002. Benefiting from the booming sales of X-Trails, Yulon reported a record high of NT$8 billion in earnings last year.
Nissan will join 14 other automakers selling cars and SUVs in India.
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