Tokyo show: Nissan teases Qashqai again

NISSAN'S relentless teaser campaign for its next-generation Qashqai continues, with the car-maker releasing the most revealing image yet of its crossover ahead of its official debut late this week.

The second-generation Qashqai will be unveiled in full on November 7 before its public showing at the Tokyo motor show two weeks later. It is scheduled for launch in Australia the second quarter of next year as a replacement for the Dualis crossover that arrived in early 2008.

Nissan Australia confirmed last month that it will dump the Dualis name in favour of Qashqai to bring it into line with global markets such as Europe. Australia and Japan were the only markets to adopt the Dualis name.

The shadowy image released by Nissan reveals a front-end design similar to that of the 2014 X-Trail that Nissan showcased at the Frankfurt motor show in September.

The dominant U-shaped chrome grille design, bonnet lines, the placement of the fog lights and even the headlight design appears to match those from the X-Trail.

Both models will share the modular platform jointly developed with sister company Renault.

Nissan will drop the seven-seat Qashqai+2 variant for in the second-gen model, pushing buyers towards the X-Trail that will be offered with a third row.

The Qashqai and the X-Trail are both scheduled to arrive in local showrooms in the second quarter of next year.

Last week the Japanese car-maker released a one-minute teaser video (above) of a heavily disguised Qashqai being tested on European roads and in icy conditions, highlighting the compact-SUV's road-holding ability. This followed an image released the week before of a Qashqai covered in a sheet with strategically placed lighting illuminating design elements of the vehicle.

Naturally, Nissan talked up the Qashqai in it latest release, saying that it “takes the crossover sector into a new dimension, raising standards for everyone and lighting the way for countless new adventures”.

The Qashqai is built at Nissan's Sunderland factory in England and is one of the Japanese car-maker's biggest sellers globally, thanks largely to its popularity in Europe. Nissan claims the Qashqai has sold more thaan two million units worldwide since its release five years ago.