Nissan Motor on Monday said it would show its X-trail clean diesel prototype at the G8 Hokkaido Toyako summit  next month.

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The model was developed to meet Japan’s ‘post new long-term regulations’ due to start taking effect from October 2009 but will go on sale next September.


Based on the M9R diesel engine co-developed with Alliance partner Renault, the Nissan version has piezo-electric-controlled injectors, a common rail injection system (1600 bar), variable nozzle turbo, a diesel particulate filter (DPF), lean NOx-trap catalyst and a sophisticated control system for precise modulation of the DPF and catalysts in tandem with driving conditions.


Diesel cars comprise less than 1% of the Japanese passenger vehicle market, Nissan told the Associated Press (AP).


Yo Usuba, Nissan’s senior vice president for power train development, told the news agency the automaker decided to showcase its new diesel technology in an SUV to maximise its strengths, namely power and good fuel efficiency over long distances.

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“People can really enjoy driving,” Usuba said of the new X-trail, which can get up to 30% better fuel economy than its petrol counterparts and similar torque levels to a six-cylinder, 3.5-litre petrol engine.


Usuba declined to provide sales projections or pricing, but said the company would monitor how receptive consumers are to the vehicle.


Nissan already produces a two-litre diesel X-trail for Europe. The turbocharged and intercooled engine is offered with two power outputs, common rail direct injection, an oxidiation catalyst and particle filter.


Along with the X-trail, Nissan has said it plans to introduce a clean-diesel version of its popular Nissan Maxima in the United States in 2010.


Rival Honda plans a clean-diesel launch in the US in 2009.