Nissan’s 1.2-litre diesel engine to be ready by 2016

A while ago we had shared that Nissan has been working on a new 1.2-litre diesel engine for its smaller range of vehicles and now we have got the confirmation that the Japanese manufacturer is looking at introducing the new small diesel engine on the Micra Active by early 2016. This 1.2-litre diesel engine will produce about 50-55bhp of power and will come mated to a five-speed manual or AMT (automated manual transmission). Nissan has been considering AMT for the Datsun brand, even Hyundai has joined the bandwagon and expect the i10 AMT to be launched in the first half of 2015.

This engine will also be made available in the Datsun GO+ and Renault will also be using it on its products below the Pulse. The 1.2-litre diesel engine is the three-cylinder of the existing 1.5-litre K9K engine that already powers the Pulse, Micra, Sunny, Scala, Duster, Evalia, Fluence and even the Lodgy will be getting the same engine.

If you have missed out on our previous story of Nissan’s new 1.2-litre diesel engine, click here. With the smaller diesel engine, the gap between the pricing of the petrol and diesel engines for smaller vehicles will be lower and this will make Renault and Nissan both competitive, as they do not have a diesel unit in this portfolio. While Hyundai has one; Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors will be getting one this year itself. Nissan doesn’t wants to be late in this race and so it is working on the 1.2-litre diesel engine. The Micra Active has the same 1.2-litre petrol engine from the Micra, but this has been detuned.