The buying trends in the Indian car market are pretty dynamic as they keep changing from time to time. Although the demand structure remains the same fundamentally, small changes keep taking place, giving rise to new segments. The year 2013, till now, has been really poor for auto makers operating in India due to the low demand and significant drop in sales. Surprisingly, the compact Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) segment that has really performed well in India. Till sometime ago, compact SUVs were not so popular in India, which can be proven by the fact that the Premier Rio was unable to succeed. However, the launch of the Renault Duster proved to be a game changer in the Indian car market. Customers loved the Duster for its style, efficiency, solidarity and suitability for city conditions. Seeing the success of the Duster, Ford introduced the EcoSport compact SUV, which, literally, took the market by storm, amassing around 30000 bookings in just 17 days. The success of the Duster and EcoSport has propelled numerous other car makers to launch their own compact SUVs. Two compact SUVs that are going to be launched soon in India are Nissan Terrano and Honda Brio MPV.
Nissan Terrano, the sibling of the Renault Duster, is expected to be introduced in India by the end of 2013. According to reports, the Terrano compact SUV is going to be the last car from the Renault-Nissan badge engineering alliance. Officials from the alliance have said that it would be better for both firms this policy was discontinued. The Terrano was officially unveiled by Nissan in the month of August and received good reviews from experts and the media. Although no official statement has been released, strong rumours suggest that the Terrano is going to hit Indian showrooms by October. The Nissan Terrano has a stylish design that is much more sophisticated and modern as compared to the Duster. Exteriors of this compact SUV come with features like heritage grille, headlights surrounded by a sporty bezel, elegant tail lights, diamond-cut machined alloy wheels. As far as the interiors are concerned, this utility vehicle boasts of dual-tone beige interiors featuring leather seats and a black dash for added style and comfort.
The Terrano is going to be available in two engine options including one diesel and one petrol. Diesel version of the Terrano compact SUV is going to be equipped with a 1.5-litre diesel engine. The diesel variant of the Nissan Terrano will have two transmission options, namely 5-speed and 6-speed manual gearboxes. The 5-speed transmission version will produce a power of around 83 bhp and the 6-speed variant will generate approximately 108 bhp. In addition, a petrol guise of the Terrano is going to be launched, which will be equipped with a 1.6-litre engine, churning out around 102 bhp. According to sources, the Terrano is going to be priced above the Duster due to its added premium features.
Honda, virtually, has redefined itself as a brand in the Indian car market by launching the Amaze compact sedan, its first diesel vehicle. Hoping to capitalise on the success of the Amaze, the Japanese car maker is expected to launch the Brio Multi Purpose Vehicle in India, which will compete against the Terrano. Till now, Honda has only released a sketch of its upcoming compact SUV, which is expected to hit Indonesian showrooms first. Based on the Brio platform, this car will have a design similar to the Amaze and according to sources, could be called the Mobilio. The Japanese car maker has designed the Brio MPV for developing nations, such as Indonesia, India and Malaysia. Like India, the compact SUV segment is also rising in Indonesia as well.
This car from Honda is likely to come in both petrol and diesel engine options along with several technologically advanced features. Industry experts believe that the success of the Earth Dreams diesel technology is going to boost the sales of the Brio based MPV. Earlier, it was said that Honda did not manufacture products for mass buyers, something that the firm has sought to change in the recent past. Some of the features expected to be included in this car are power windows, rear wipers, chrome vents, dual interior lamps, central locking and Anti-lock Braking System. Sources close to this development have claimed that Honda is likely to adopt an aggressive pricing strategy for the Brio MPV, just like it did for the Amaze. Honda has made no official statement regarding the unveiling or the launching of the Brio MPV. However, there are strong chances that the Honda Brio MPV will be unveiled at the 2014 Auto Expo in Greater Noida. Though the Nissan Terrano will be launched earlier than the Brio MPV, the latter is going to be a strong competitor for the former.
