Nissan looking to rival Toyota Innova with new MPV

MANILA: The Toyota Innova is nothing less than a king in the MPV space in the ASEAN countries. It sells more than most other models in the segment. There have been many cars that were thrown at the segment, but seldom did we see a model that could match up to that kind of popularity.

However, Nissan is getting ready to throw its hat in the ring with a new model in the segment. Recently in a meeting at the GHQ (General Headquarters) in Yokohama, upon being asked about the chances of having a new MPV that could rival the Toyota Innova, the spokesperson gave a nod.

Yes, this reply came from Mr Hiroshi Nagasuka, General Manager of LCV Product Planning (Light Commercial Vehicle) at Nissan. However, this new model would take a long time to be released and the company is just studying for the project now.

There has been a trend in the ASEAN countries among the automakers. Generally, most of the carmakers use their respective body-on-frame twice. This trend follows on a pickup truck and then an SUV/PPV (pickup passenger vehicles). The case is the same with Ford models like Ranger and Everest, Isuzu with the D-Max and mu-X and Nissan with Navara and the Terra. However, Toyota is the only brand to use a similar platform three times for the Hilux (pickup), Fortuner (SUV) and Innova.

Nissan is eager to bring its alliance with Mitsubishi into effect by developing a new vehicle slightly bigger than the Xpander. This would compete against the Honda BR-V and the Toyota Rush.

The General Manager even hinted that the alliance of Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi could even be used for the development of this Innova-rivalling MPV. This could be very much possible as the alliance is a very important one from the company’s perspective.

Hence, if this comes out to be true, Nissan will have a similar body-to-frame usage with the Navara, Terra and the new MPV.