The compact seven-seater MPV expands Nissan’s India portfolio beyond SUVs, targeting higher-volume family segments while supporting the brand’s strategy to strengthen its domestic market presence.
17 Feb 2026 | 398 Views | By Kiran Murali
Nissan Motor India on Tuesday launched the Gravite, a compact seven-seater multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), as the Japanese automaker looks to widen its portfolio in a market dominated by sport utility vehicles.
The Gravite is based on the CMF-A+ platform, the same architecture that underpins the Renault Triber, but features ...
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Nissan Motor India on Tuesday launched the Gravite, a compact seven-seater multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), as the Japanese automaker looks to widen its portfolio in a market dominated by sport utility vehicles.
The Gravite is based on the CMF-A+ platform, the same architecture that underpins the Renault Triber, but features Nissan-specific styling and branding.
With the launch, Nissan adds a second volume-oriented product to its India line-up, which is currently driven largely by the Magnite compact SUV.
India’s passenger vehicle market is dominated by SUVs, which account for the bulk of sales. However, MPVs remain an important segment for automakers such as Maruti Suzuki and Toyota, which generate a significant share of their volumes from models such as the Ertiga and Innova.
In financial year 2025, MPV sales are estimated to have accounted for around 10% of total domestic passenger vehicle sales, with 4,48,233 units sold.
Nissan’s entry into the compact MPV segment comes as it seeks to strengthen its presence in India and reduce its reliance on a single high-volume model.
By entering the compact MPV space, Nissan is seeking to expand its domestic footprint and build a more balanced portfolio as it works toward its stated growth targets in one of its key global markets.
Between April and January of financial year 2026, Nissan produced 89,987 units in India. Of these, it sold 17,662 units in the domestic market and exported 68,091 units. In financial year 2025, the company produced about 99,000 units, selling 28,000 units domestically and exporting 71,000 units.
Exports account for a significant share of Nissan’s India production, underlining the importance of overseas markets to its overall strategy. The addition of the Gravite could help the company improve its domestic mix at a time when competition remains intense.
Last year, Nissan outlined plans to expand its India business with six new models and investments of 700 million euros. The company has set a target to double its total sales volume to 2 lakh units by 2026.
The planned product pipeline, unveiled earlier, includes two C-segment SUVs, a B-segment SUV, an electric vehicle, and new variants of the Magnite, in addition to the X-Trail, which has already been launched.
The Gravite forms part of this broader expansion strategy, as the automaker looks to tap segments beyond compact SUVs and participate in higher-volume categories.
The launch also comes after Nissan sold its 51% stake in Renault Nissan Automotive India Pvt Ltd (RNAIPL), its primary manufacturing base in Chennai, to Renault, giving the French automaker full ownership of the plant. While Nissan has said that its future product roadmap remains unchanged, the stake sale has raised questions about its operational independence and long-term manufacturing arrangements in India.