Nissan X-Trail crossover India launch postponed: Report

Nissan India has reportedly delayed the launch of the X-Trail crossover to early 2017. The crossover was set to enter Indian market in the coming festive season. The company had showcased the model at the Auto Expo 2016 in February.

The launch has been delayed by the Japanese car makers as engineers were said to be concerned about the performance of the hybrid powertrain in Indian conditions. The crossover requires further testing, reports Autocar India.

At the Auto Expo 2016, Nissan confirmed that the India spec X-Trail will be powered by a petrol and electric hybrid engine setup. The powertrain will be a 2.0-litre MR20 DD petrol engine working in tandem with an electric motor to develop a combined output of 179bhp and will be mated to Xtronic CVT transmission. India is the fourth market after Japan, Thailand and Indonesia where Nissan would introduce the X-trail Hybrid.

The new X-Trail is in its third generation, which sees a radical change over the previous versions. The boxy design of the previous generation has made way for a rounded design. The new X-Trail is based on the Common Module Family (CMF) platform architecture jointly developed by Nissan and Renault.

This is the second foray of the X-Trail in India. Nissan launched the previous version in 2004 in the country and discontinued it in 2014 owing to slow sales due to high price. Nissan is likely to take the Completely Knocked Down (CKD) line this time to keep the pricing competitive. The X-Trail in India is expected to cost between Rs. 30 and Rs. 40 lakh.