At a joint press conference, Nissan and Renault announced the development of four new products; two SUVs with five seats, one of each brand and one with seven seats. Concept previews of the two soon-to-be-unveiled mid-range SUVs have been released. The SUVs are based on the Renault-Nissan Alliance’s modular, highly localized CMF-B model, which underpins several global models from both manufacturers as well as Renault’s sister brand Dacia.
Although not confirmed by Renault, we believe the CMF-B-based five-seater SUV could revive the ‘Duster’ name. The new generation of Renault Duster was launched in February this year. However, the new CMF-B SUV gets some styling tweaks compared to the international-spec Duster, including redesigned headlights as well as bumpers. The Nissan SUV boasts L-shaped LED DRLs integrated into the light bar above the nose.
The two SUVs will be updated with seven seats, taking into account the growing three-row mid-size SUV segment that currently includes the Hyundai Alcazar, MG Hector Plus, Tata Safari and Mahindra XUV700. The three-row versions of both SUVs will likely have unique styling cues and taller wheels, but may carry the same powertrains. The powertrains could include either strong hybrids or turbo petrols.
The new Renault Duster is expected to arrive in India only towards the end of 2025. While none of the four SUVs has an official launch date, the Renault Duster and Nissan five-seater SUVs are likely to go on sale first, followed by the seven-seaters. The manufacturers have confirmed that the products of both models will be presented in parallel. In addition, two more products are planned to be introduced, although there is no confirmation as to what they might be. When it arrives, the SUVs will compete with SUVs like Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Skoda Kushaq, Volkswagen Taigun, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, Toyota Hyryder, Honda Elevate, Citroen C3 Aircross and MG Astor.
