Harnodi | Nissan confirms plans of bringing the Murano SUV to India in 2009 | We’ve earlier reported  that Nissan would be bringing the Murano SUV to India in 2009, and the Japanese company has now confirmed its plans of doing so. The Murano would be brought to India next year as a CBU, and if Nissan manages to get the pricing right, the Murano could be the first real competitor to the Honda CR-V.

Nissan is fully committed to the Indian markets and wants to diversify its product portfolio here as soon as possible. ‘We will offer the Murano as a completely built import in the following fiscal,’ said Simon Sproule, Corporate VP, Global Communications, Nissan. Given its more substantial, imposing presence, the Murano may be more successful in India than the Nissan X-Trail, which has already been on sale here for a few years. The X-Trail is a more toned-down ‘crossover’ rather than a big, chunky SUV, which is what most Indian consumers seem to want.

Nissan sold about 235 X-Trails in 2007, and the Murano could well have the potential to better that figure by a significant margin. Nissan believes that market conditions in India are just right for a ‘premium SUV’ and the company does not want to miss out on the opportunity of having a contender in this lucrative segment.