Nissan has released fresh teaser images of the new Renault-based, Indian-built SUV that will ultimately replace the since-discontinued Qashqai in South Africa…
Nissan has released fresh teaser images of a new 5-seater SUV based on the Renault Duster, set to be built in India and already confirmed for South Africa, where it will effectively replace the since-discontinued Qashqai.
The teasers formed part of the Japanese automaker’s Global Product Showcase event in Yokohama. At the same event, Nissan released a similarly shadowy teaser image of what it described as an “all-new 7-seater B-MPV”. From what we can tell, that model – which is scheduled to launch in India in “FY25” (Fiscal Year 2025) – will be based on Alliance partner Renault’s soon-to-be-facelifted Triber.
Nissan says its new “5-seater C-SUV” will follow in the Indian market in “early FY26”. As a reminder, this model is set to be based on the upcoming Indian-spec Renault Duster, which will be built at Renault Nissan Automotive India’s manufacturing plant in Oragadam near Chennai (which currently also produces the Magnite, Kiger and Triber).
While the Romanian-built Duster has already launched in South Africa, the French firm’s local distributor plans to switch to the Indian-made version once it starts rolling off the line in Chennai. Around the same time (we’re guessing at some point in 2026), the Nissan-badged version should hit the market in South Africa.
Nissan’s Indian division promises the new model will be “feature-packed” and boast “state-of-the-art proprietary advanced technologies”. The company says it “takes its design cues from the Nissan Patrol” and “will deliver true Nissan SUV DNA”.
What will it be called? Well, Nissan has yet to reveal the new model’s name, though the firm could perhaps dust off the “Terrano” badge. After all, Terrano was the nameplate used on Nissan’s rebadged version of the 1st-gen Duster offered in markets like India and Russia (but not in SA).
Nissan still holds the Terrano trademark here in South Africa, with the “Terrano II” having been sold briefly in Mzansi in the early 2000s. However, back in September 2024, Cars.co.za discovered that Nissan Motor Corporation had filed to trademark the “Gravite” nameplate locally (after having applied to reserve the very same nameplate in India in November 2023).
Though we’re administering a healthy dose of speculation here, we’d argue that the Gravite badge could be a prime candidate for use on this new SUV, which will be positioned above the Magnite as an eventual – and, crucially, more cost-effective – replacement for the locally discontinued Qashqai. Whether this new models ends up being called “Gravite”, of course, remains to be seen.
As a reminder, back in June 2024, Cars.co.za broke the news that Nissan had quietly axed the Qashqai in South Africa, bringing down the curtain on this well-known nameplate’s nearly 17-year run on the local market.
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