Team-BHP - Nissan's Duster-based SUV, the Terrano: Full Pics are out!

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinair (Post 2949123)

In India, Nissan has more badge value than Renault and instead of jumping into the small, tiny, molecular or what ever SUV segment that is steadily gaining ground, IMO Nissan should just get a proper SUV that's affordable and is in a more grown up segment.

I am sure there will be a lot of people going for proper Nissan SUV in the below 20 lac category than plonk on a big fat hatch that sports a Nissan logo!

Are you forgetting that Nissan sells the X-Trail in CBU form here? :) It does push the price up, but there is little else in the SUV segment other than the Murano and the Pathfinder. The Qashqai is an option but if it isn't assembled here, it probably won't make sense considering that it's going to be more expensive than the Duster while offering the same sort functionality and package.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ecclipse78 (Post 2948648)

And what's Nissan going to call this car ?

'Eraser' might be apt....they might even throw in a few Arnold Schwarenegger goodies....Lol.

Crazy, the level of brand cannabalization between these two brands !

No No... they'd call it the New Improved Superlative Nissan CHALK!!!
Keeping the car unchanged and tweaking bumpers and adding a new grill, and voila!! a new model, either the car makers have lost it, or they take us for dumb cows

Quote:

Originally Posted by suhaas307 (Post 2949272)

X-Trail was never a affordable SUV, costing upwards of 20 lacs. If Nissan is really serious, they should get their hands dirty and come up with a original made for India model. Something that can rival the XUV and the Rextons both in terms of space and price.

Hahaha - I like how Autocar India calls this a 'scoop'. Nice! The image is a digital image, so lets wait and see.

This is probably good news (not good 'scoop') in general - with the volumes of the Dacia based SUV that they are already selling as Renualt, any additional volumes will result in a parts / repair industry.

Hopefully it will also reduce the waiting list!

Although my hunch is that Renault will keep selling the Duster until its supply-demand gap is narrowed down significantly. When your car is already selling at more than a pace of production, then whats hte point of adding another brand. Maybe, when the sales slow down a bit, they will launch a refreshed version of the Duster as a Nissan. And maybe it will even be 4x4, which is already a model offered by Dacia on this same duster.

Quote:

Originally Posted by apachelongbow (Post 2949341)

True, Renault Nissan may be taking the Indian customers for ride. They launch Micra and Pulse, Sunny and Scala, Evalia and yet to be launched AL Stile. I was waiting to see what they would call Duster in Nissan showrooms.

IMO Nissan will not call this Duster, as the about pictures suggest its for the different market. I am happy if they fix some of the small issue and bring in 4X4.
I personally feel they need to do something different rather that just re-badge models and sell them in different brands. I am not sure if its technically possible but may be Nissan can think of bringing a different engine, or something in this line.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ampere (Post 2948269)

As per the article and as per going by Nissan/Renault protocol on pricing strategy between their products, Nissan Duster should be cheaper than Renault
Duster and not costlier.

Quote:

Originally Posted by suhaas307 (Post 2948273)

That's odd. Doesn't sound like a very Nissany strategy. Aren't they positioning themselves marginally lower than Renault in terms of pricing?

OK let me give out a Caveat, I am only making a guessing game, so please dont take it that seriously. Here is the reason I made up this maths.

Normally, the cars we see like Micra and Sunny are from Nissan's stable so it consists of following cost components, when it becomes Renault's car.

Scala = Sunny manufact'g cost - Nissan's branding costs + Nissan's transfer price + Renaults fixed cost.

But since Duster is from Renault's stable the components should be as follows:
Nissan's Duster = Renault Duster's manufacturing cost - Renault's branding costs +
Renaults transfer price + Nissan's branding cost.

So conclusion of the hypothesis:
If the Renault's branding cost > (Renault's transfer price+ Nissan's branding costs)
Then Nissan's version will be cheaper than Renault Duster

I did a pure guess based on maths, No source available.

Quote:

Originally Posted by xingamazon (Post 2950319)

Then Nissan's version will be cheaper than Renault Duster

I did a pure guess based on maths

Your guess is as good as mine. :)

I'd also like to mention that the RXZ(o) 110 costs almost 15 lakhs OTR Bangalore. Even if Nissan manages to undercut the price variant for variant, what about the 4x4 version if they do bring it here eventually? That's certainly going to be expensive and will push it in XUV / Yeti territory. You also get 4x4 only on the 110 (which is a very slightly different state of tune when compared to the 4x2 110)

It's going to be interesting, that's for sure. Will Nissan restrict the number of engine options even further by offering only a few?

I stumbled upon this little fact on wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dacia_Duster

"The Duster is offered with two-wheel or four-wheel drive. The 4x4 variants make use of Nissan's all-wheel drive system which allows the driver to choose from three different driving modes: Auto, in which the rear-wheel drive is engaged automatically in case the front wheels loose grip..."

Could this be the reason why Renault couldn't launch 4x4 because of their agreement with Nissan in India? Maybe Nissan holds the exclusive rights for the 4x4 in India, and will launch their own model as that and only then Renault's Duster will also launch in 4x4?

My guess is as good as yours :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by xingamazon (Post 2950319)

Scala = Sunny manufact'g cost - Nissan's branding costs + Nissan's transfer price + Renaults fixed cost.

But since Duster is from Renault's stable the components should be as follows:
Nissan's Duster = Renault Duster's manufacturing cost - Renault's branding costs +
Renaults transfer price + Nissan's branding cost.

My mind was also following your line of thinking. However, the conclusion to the hypothesis was Nissan Duster models price > Renault Duster models price across the variants.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sourabhzen (Post 2948336)

I doubt Nissan capability of retaining the present dealers after the news of their dealerships refusing to take new cars (as per the news article today), let alone increasing them. They will be following Peugeot's trail by the time they realize their mistakes.

Do Nissan and Renault share their service centres with each other?

As of now, They do not share any service stations.
In the future, this is quite possible. This might change up the market dynamics at that point of time. I am sure that Nissan + Renault would do that, and push the service to new standards. The way they are approaching market clearly says this. They are gaining volume day by day in one or the other way. :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by torquing_points (Post 2949439)

When your car is already selling at more than a pace of production, then whats hte point of adding another brand. Maybe, when the sales slow down a bit, they will launch a refreshed version of the Duster as a Nissan. And maybe it will even be 4x4, which is already a model offered by Dacia on this same duster.

This shouldnt be the attitude of any company. When you are selling volumes, then you should always try to push more than your capacity. Cannibalize your products this will put the customer in confusion and brings in more volumes. This is what we call as Growth. This is applicable to all industries.

When the volumes are going down, its as good as a falling sword. You cant catch it without causing any damages. What fiat is doing. Its a falling sword. what ever they give, customers blame. Even though the 2011 linea has 170 MM GC, which is equivalent to what Rapid/Vento has. People shouted on FIAT, but few complain about Vento/Rapid. These are the side effects when your sword is falling.

What would renault do, if Ecosport is launched with all gadgets and at a better price, and the customers liked the car like they like duster now. You cannt roll back anything. As long as the ball is in your court, you should push as much as you can. This could give you Goodwill for the brand in the market + More service options to customer. the default advantage would be more profits when volumes are pushed.

One obvious advantage of Nissan's duster would be more competitive pricing. Duster is definitely not the most VFM product but for certain the best one in its category or probably the only one. Nissan will undercut Renault like other products. Looks like mini SUV market is slowly catching speed and heat. I am hoping that Ford will under cut both of these with the Ecosport having the sub 4m advantage.