“Closing time, every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end … ” These are the lyrics from Semisonic’s famous song, ‘Closing Time’, and they might be very apt for Nissans Terrano’s future in India.
The Duster-based SUV was introduced by the Japanese car manufacturer earlier in 2013 and it was priced at a premium, compared to the Duster. However, it never achieved the success and fan-following which its French counterpart did. Though produced in the same facility (based out of Chennai) as the Duster, the Terrano failed to bring in consistent 4-digit sales figures, which Nissan would have expected considering Duster’s huge popularity.
With the launch of the Kicks around the corner, there are rumors that Nissan might remove the Terrano from its line-up. Nissan has already held one media-drive of the Kicks last month and the car is slated to make its Indian debut on 18th October, 2018.
Nissan dealerships have reported that Nissan has stopped dispatching Terrano’s units from its factory, potentially because Nissan might have stopped production of the Terrano. Considering that Nissan would like to kick-start the production of Kicks (pun intended) soon, it is justifiable that the Terrano’s production has been halted, however we aren’t sure if it is a temporary or a permanent move.
Even if Nissan decides to remove the Terrano from its line-up, it isn’t going to have a major impact on overall performance of the company. Sales haven’t been strong for the SUV in the recent past, with last 2 month’s sales numbers being in 2 digits, 65 for July and 71 for August.
The India-bound Kicks will share its platform with the current generation Duster, Captur and Terrano. However, in global markets, the Kicks is based on a more advanced platform. The cost-effective B0 platform should help the company to price the new SUV aggressively and taste some success in the continuously growing Indian SUV market.
