Will Nissan X-Trail Hybrid make its way to Malaysia after Thailand?

Everyone consider their car as essential part of everyday life. However, they do not realize that cars are the major factor which contribute to the pollution and cause damages to our natural environment. The production of green cars such as hybrid cars is a solution to be much more environmentally friendly as they have less pollutant emission.

Hybrid cars take conventional motoring technology and combine it with an electric propulsion system, hence the term ‘hybrid’. These vehicles help you save on fuel costs, and come with a government rebate for hybrid and electric cars assembled in Malaysia. The tax exemption for hybrid and electric cars imported completely assembled into the Malaysia ended 31 December 2013. Now the tax break only applies to hybrid and electric cars assembled in Malaysia, called CKD (Completely Knocked Down).

For those who are interested in buying a hybrid car in Malaysia, the selection is much larger than that of electric cars. There are hybrid cars including Audi A6 Hybrid, BMW Active Hybrid, Honda Jazz Hybrid, Honda Civic Hybrid, Toyota Prius, Nissan Serena Hybrid and Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid. And now, to this vehicle range, there is one more player which is expected to join the race – Nissan X-Trail Hybrid.

After Nissan X-Trail Hybrid's official launch in Thailand very recently, it is on high demand in Malaysia as well. It has become favorite discussion topic of many auto experts during the time, whether Hybrid X-Trail will make its way to Malaysian shores or not!

Nissan first introduced the X-Trail Hybrid in Japan back in April, with the country being the only place where the crossover was manufactured. However, with Nissan’s facility in Thailand, it now becomes the second plant worldwide to produce the X-Trail Hybrid. Malaysia being Thailand's neighborhood country, speculations are on high take for the availability for this Nissan Hybrid Crossover on roads.

For the Thailand market, the X-Trail Hybrid is provided in three variants - 2.0 S 2WD Hybrid, 2.0 E 2WD Hybrid and 2.0 V 4WD Hybrid. Powering all variants is a 2.0 litre MR20DD inline four-cylinder petrol engine that delivers 144 PS at 6,000 rpm and 200 Nm of torque at 4,400 rpm. The engine is coupled with a seven-speed Xtronic CVT automatic transmission (with manual mode) and is assisted by a 41 PS/160 Nm synchronous electric motor. The combined power output of the hybrid powertrain is rated at 179 PS. Resulting in a fuel economy count, which is said to be 20% more efficient compared to models fitted with the 2.5-litre QR25DE engine.

Read Also: Top 5 Fastest Hybrid Cars

Additionally, NissanConnect with Navigation, the latest generation in-car navigation, information and entertainment system with smartphone link application, is applied to the model for the first time. Inside, the Hybrid Nissan X-Trail has seating for five, unlike the non-hybrid models that seats seven. Leather is the material of choice for the seats, with only the top-spec variant receiving black-coloured ones (others get beige). With all this and few more exterior and interior upgrades, it would be interesting to see Hybrid Nissan X-Trail launching officially in Malaysia. Although, Malaysians are not so much into 'hybrids' and 'electrics' till date, it is fair to say that the respective industry is making a way in between commonplace. Yet one can also speculate that hybrid cars will be the best option for environment-friendly personal travel in the not-too-distant future. To this, we should raise our expectations high for Nissan X-Trail hybrid to appear in Malaysia.

Stay tuned with us to get further updates about Nissan X-Trail Hybrid or other Hybrid Car launched in Malaysia. As an individual, you can add one more number to the community to save our environment going for Hybrids!