The Nissan Murano ticked all the boxes for Chinese requirements, its big, its relatively imposing, it looks unique, on the downside that uniqueness along with the large 3.5L V6 displacement and 488,000 price tag did not win many consumers, in fact December sales seemed to have reached zero units whilst total sales for the year were just 936 units as of November 2012.

To change the poor sales situation, Nissan are planning to transplant the 2.5L from the Nissan Teana and X-Trail into the Murano to bring down pricing and bring in more interest. Consumer tax on vehicles above 3.5L jumps to 25%, whilst 2.0L to 2.5L is just 9%, not to mention the yearly tax on vehicles above 3.5L is relatively high.

A low cost Murano is expected to be priced at 290,000RMB when launched later this year, which still seems relatively high. Honda made the same mistake when they launched the Crosstour with a 3.5L V6, sales were low until the introduction of a 2.4L version.