Nissan has had to push the launch of the Magnite sub-compact SUV to January 2021. This is yet another COVID-19 related delay. Until then, the BS6 Kicks is the only Nissan on sale in India.
There are a lot of new sub-compact SUVs that will be joining this crowded space this year. These include the Kia Sonet, the Nissan Magnite and also the Renault Kiger. However, according to a latest report by Autocar India, Nissan has now delayed the launch of the Magnite until January, next year. The SUV was supposed to launch in August this year but this is yet another COVID-19 related delay.
Nissan will be manufacturing the Magnite at the Renault-Nissan Alliance plaint at Oragadam in Tamil Nadu. However, due to the lockdown, Nissan missed their manufacturing window and it will not be currently possible to move the production schedule that Nissan had earlier. Doing so will compromise the roll-out pkan for Renault’s own sub-compact SUV, the Kiger that will be manufactured at the same plant. The Renault Kiger will hit the showrooms this October and Renault is banking on a festive season launch, naturally not wanting to give up that window.
With the Renault management sticking to the original launch plan of the Kiger, Nissan will inevitably have to reschedule their launch plan. The report also claims that Nissan is not particularly enthusiastic about launching the Magnite at a time when buying sentiment is low. The Magnite is a very important car for Nissan and quite literally, a make-or-break product for them. Currently, Nissan has just one product up their sleeve – the BS6 Kicks – on sale in India, until the Magnite arrives. So they definitely cannot afford to go wrong with this.
Also Read : Brand New Kia Carnival Crashes Into A Wall While Leaving The Showroom
Under the hood, the Nissan Magnite will be powered by familiar engines from the Renault Triber. That includes the 1.0L, naturally aspirated three-cylinder petrol engine from the Triber that produces 69bhp. It will also get the 1.0L turbo-petrol engine with around 100bhp that’s expected to debut on the Triber very soon. Both engines will come mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. Meanwhile, we expect an automatic gearbox in the form of a CVT to be exclusively offered only on the turbo-petrol variants.
Also Read : Top 5 Biggest Flop Cars From Mahindra Till Now!
The Nissan Magnite will have its starting price from around the Rs 5 lakh mark and it might very well be cheapest in its segment. Nissan will also be offering some segment-best features on Magnite to make it more appealing and even if it is cheap, it will not be skimmed down on features. The Nissan Magnite will rival the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Tata Nexon, Ford EcoSport, Hyundai Venue, and Mahindra XUV300.
