After a slow start, it seems Japanese auto maker, Nissan India has finally hit the bull’s eye. The company has been witnessing rise in sales in domestic market despite slowdown in automotive industry on the back of its newly inducted low cost brand Datsun. Among other vehicles in Nissan India range,Micra and Micra Active are also contributing decently towards the monthly sales. In June, Nissan posted rise in sales by 48 per cent and has registered a staggering growth of 134 per cent in first quarter of current fiscal.
The upcoming launch of Sunny sedan facelift is likely to further aggravate Nissan’s monthly sales in domestic market. Slated to launch on July 3rd, 2014, the sedan will be offered in eight trim levels in both petrol and diesel engine options. Among the new additions, a couple of cosmetic tweaks on exterior and interior front will be seen. Besides this a string of new equipment might also be put on offer. In front,chrome garnished trapezoid grille, large boomerang-shaped headlights, and reworked bumpersare expected to be seen. Slight changes have been made to the rear side of the sedan in the form of a small boot lid spoiler with a stop light. Vital safety equipment including ABS, EBD and driver’s airbag will be offered as standard features on the Sunny range.Engine line-up is likely to remain unchanged; a 1.5 litre petrol and a 1.5 litred Ci powertrain will power the petrol and diesel trims respectively. A five speed manual transmission along with a CVT gearbox will be put on offer. Amid such fierce competition in mid-sized sedan segment, Nissan needs to price Sunny facelift competitively in order to sustain competition.
The company is currently contemplating expanding its footprint in India by enhancing its dealership network to 200 outlets from current 128. Nissan is eyeing penetrating into the rural market that largely remains untouched. This will help the Japanese car maker to improve visibility in India and increase sales.
