August 24, 2007 - 4:25 pm EST
BALTIMORE -- Nissan is going after a piece of the small-crossover market now dominated by the Honda CR-V and the Toyota RAV4.
Nissan dealers will begin receiving the new four-cylinder Rogue in September, with a base price under $20,000, company officials said here Thursday, Aug. 23.
The price was reduced, said Ken Kcomt, director of product planning for Nissan North America Inc. Before this week, Nissan expected a final price starting above $20,000.
The price of 2007 CR-V starts at $21,195, and the 2007 RAV4 starts at $21,635. Both prices include shipping.
The Rogue will face an entrenched competitor in the CR-V, which has been forecast to sell more than 200,000 units this year. Through July, the model sold 124,262 units -- up 42 percent from a year earlier. Honda Motor Co. moved the vehicle into U.S. production in September 2006.
Toyota Motor Corp. also plans to start North American production of its RAV4 next year. The RAV4 sold 101,618 units through July, and Toyota officials have vowed to step up their efforts to sell against the CR-V.
Nissan's new Japan-built entry is nearly 5 inches longer than the CR-V and 1.3 inches longer than the RAV4 but offers slightly less passenger and cargo volume than either.
The Rogue is built on the Nissan-Renault global C platform, which also yields the Nissan Sentra and European-sold Qashqai, as well as the Renault Megane.
The U.S. model will come standard with a continuously variable transmission and a 2.5-liter inline four-cylinder engine. Kcomt says there are no plans to fit the crossover with a six-cylinder version.
###
Source:
Lindsay Chappell
Automotive News
