Making sense of Nissan-Renault's SUVs heading to South Africa

The Citizen

3 days ago

Devised as Dacias and badged as Renaults in certain markets, the latest generation Duster and Boreal will be sold as Nissans built at the Chennai plant in India from 2026.
Its product plans for South Africa revised at the beginning of the year, the reported confirmation by sister brand Renault on its new Boreal being under investigation for the local market, has provided the clearest hint yet of Nissan's incoming, still unnamed, new SUV.
Approved for the local market in September last year after being teased in India five months before, the Nissan-badged Boreal will form part of a two-model roll-out, with the second set to be based on the all-new Renault Duster.
'[These] products will be Nissan's answer to the Chinese competition in South Africa. We believe [India] is a good source to bring competitive and technologically advanced to market,' Nissan Managing Director for South Africa and Independent African Markets, Maciej Klenkiewicz, told the media on the sidelines of the facelift Magnite's launch in Cape Town in November.
'If you look at other products made in India [for South Africa], they are becoming more and more competitive and we, as Nissan, believe this is our future'.
Set to be produced alongside the Boreal and Duster at the Chennai plant that currently builds the Magnite, Kwid, Kiger, Triber, the Nissan pair will differ visually and subtly inside, but retain the same mechanicals and, in the case of the Boreal version, offer seven seats.
Back in May, Nissan Managing Director for India, Saurabh Vatsa, confirmed that while the facility now falls solely under Renault ownership, Nissan has no plans on leaving the Indian market.
This stands in confirmation with Nissan Africa boss Jordi Vilas, who told local media at the launch of the Navara Stealth earlier this year month that the brand's remains committed to Africa and South Africa despite ongoing rumours around its Rosslyn plant outside Pretoria.
'We have a wonderful partnership and agreement with Renault, and when we were in charge of the plant, there were no production-supply problems for either partner, so why should there be any now?' Vatsa told Autocar India.
'Reports of our exit are all untrue, and there is no reason for us to exit.'
In the same report, Vasta added that pre-production of the first Nissan-badged Renault had already started, which speculation has alleged could be the Duster Nissan will either rebadge once again as the Terrano, or under a different moniker.
While a Nissan-badged version of the Renault Triber has also been approved for India from early next year, this model has not been approved for South Africa.
At the other end of the scale, the Boreal-based Nissan, itself a restyled and adapted version of the Dacia Bigster, will be revised further to seat seven and not five as the latter.
In a surprise though, it will be positioned below the X-Trail instead of replacing it outright. For its part, the Duster-underpinned model will indirectly succeed the Qashqai discontinued last year.
'In terms of the positioning of the vehicle and pricing, and technology, it won't cannibalise sales [of the X-Trail],' Vila said when asked about the possibility of the newcomer stealing sales of the X-Trail that will undergo in a refresh within the coming months.
An effective five model SUV range that will be topped by the new Y63 Patrol next year, with the Magnite remaining the line-up's entry-point, more details will only be disclosed.
For its part, the announcement to IOL about the Boreal for South Africa could result in the Symbioz being pulled, possibly as a result of price.
This, after Renault revealed at its product plans conference for 2025 at the end of last year, that it is investigating the Symbioz for introduction in 2026 as the replacement for the long since discontinued Kadjar.
As it stands though, this is purely speculative and will only be confirmed or dismissed next year.
NOW READ: New products coming as Nissan approves two new SUVs for Africa