Nissan Motor to launch Diesel X-Trail in Japan next year

Nissan Motor has announced that they are working on launching a diesel version of their X-Trail SUV in the Japanese market sometime next year.

The company aims to revive the almost dead diesel passenger auto segment in the Japanese market.

Nissan said that they are working on developing high-performance catalysts and advanced engine management technologies on a diesel engine for X-Trail.

For this, they are working in collaboration with Renault SA to further clean exhaust emissions.

The aim is to meet the stringent emission standards in Japan. Diesel engine powered cars are increasingly becoming popular in markets around the world as they tend to give better mileage compared to gasoline cars.

DaimlerChrysler is at the moment the only automaker in Japan to sell a diesel passenger car in Japan. This product is the Mercedes E320 CDI sedan.

Nissan is not alone working on launching diesel engine cars in Japan. Honda has already announced their plans to launch diesel-fueled cars in Japan after 2009.