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TOKYO - Nissan is to launch a diesel version of its X-Trail sport utility vehicle in Japan next year, a move that could revive the all-but-dead diesel passenger vehicle segment in the world's third-biggest car market.
Japan's No 3 car-maker is developing high-performance catalysts and advanced engine management technologies on a diesel engine co-developed with partner Renault to further clean exhaust emissions.
The engine will be designed to meet new emissions standards in Japan.
The introduction of the diesel X-Trail could mark the first diesel passenger car launched in Japan by a local brand in years after the powertrain all but disappeared in the 1990s due to its poor image as being dirty and loud.
Diesel cars' weakness has been higher exhaust levels of nitrogen oxide and pollutants but they are gaining traction worldwide after their success in Europe as they can get 30 per cent better mileage than petrol engines and emit less carbon dioxide.
DaimlerChrysler is so far the only car-maker to offer a diesel passenger car in Japan, the Mercedes E320 CDI sedan, and is keen to see local brands entering the niche to promote the powertrain, in which it holds a technological edge.
Honda plans to sell diesel-fuelled cars in Japan after 2009 while Toyota, which controls more than 40 per cent of the Japanese market, has yet to commit to a diesel passenger car for sale there.
- Reuters
