Nissan Motor has revealed plans to build an SUV based on the Navara pickup truck platform after the current model is replaced in the next year or so.
Takayuki Kimura, president of Nissan Motor (Thailand), admits that it is a regret that a pickup-based SUV has not been launched earlier. These models benefit from a reduced excise tax of 20% in Thailand and are very popular.
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A new Thai-made SUV model is expected to be launched in 2014, with styling cues expected to be taken from the Pathfinder SUV in the USA.
The current Navara pickup is driven by a 2.5-litre common-rail diesel engine and is produced mainly at the company’s plant in Bang Na, near Bangkok.
A lack of capacity has meant that some Navara production has been farmed out to Mitsubishi’s Laem Chabang plant in Chonburi but this decision will likely be reversed once the Bang Na facility is expanded over the next year.
