Nissan Motor Company Limited, the Japanese automobile manufacturer, has decided to double the export volume at its Indian unit. At present, Nissan Motor India’s Chennai facility has annual capacity of 2 lakh vehicles and this figure will be increased to 4 lakhs by the end of March.
Kiminobu Tokuyama, Chief Executive Officer, Managing Director, Nissan Motor India was present in Kolkata first dealership in West Bengal. Tokuyama stated, “We are currently running on a production capacity of 2 lakh units at our plant in Chennai. By the end of March we will increase that to 4 lakh units.”
By the end of January 2012, Nissan Motor India had a 1% share in the Indian automobile market. According to company officials, it has planned to sell 35000-40000 units during the current fiscal in India. With this plan, Nissan would be able to achieve the 1 lakh sales figure in the Indian automobile market by FY2013-14.
According to Tokuyama, the company’s annual sales figure will reach over 3 lakh units from March. It will be using its Chennai facility for exporting models to the Middle-East, Africa and Europe. However, sales in Indian automobile market will remain Nissan Motor India’s foremost priority.
He also revealed that Nissan Motor India is planning to introduce an entry level small car that would compete against Maruti Suzuki Alto. He stated, “We are working on a car for what we like to call the ‘entry price segment’. The car is in the conceptualisation stage.” He added that this small car would be available in India at a price lower than Micra, which costs over Rs. 4 lakhs.
The Indian subsidiary of Nissan had earlier declared plans to work in partnership with Renault to produce an ultra-low-cost car in order to compete against 2012 Delhi Auto Expo. Reportedly, Bajaj had mentioned that Renault and Nissan would be involved in manufacturing the RE60. However, the Japanese automaker refused to comment on this alliance when question about it on 17th February 2012.
Though it avoided the question about partnership with Bajaj, Nissan India was quick to mention its 2008 joint venture with the second biggest commercial automaker in the country, Ashok Leyland. The company stated that this collaboration proved to be very successful and that it was satisfied with the jointly-produced model that was launched in September 2011. Tokuyama commented, “Our first light commercial vehicle Dost has been a great success and has exceeded our sales targets. The next vehicle from that partnership, Evalia, will be launched in third quarter of the coming fiscal.”
Nissan Evalia, a Multi Purpose Vehicle (MPV), was displayed at the 12th edition of the Delhi Auto Expo. This model is a seven-seater with sliding doors that will compete against Toyota Innova upon its launch. The company will start its production by the end of August 2012.
This Japanese automaker is eager to introduce its most successful electric model, Leaf, to the Indian customers. Tokuyama commented that Nissan would take the next step only after the company gets government approval and proper infrastructure development.
According to Tokuyama, “Electric vehicles are expensive to make. And without the right kind of government support in the form of tax incentives and infrastructure such as charging stations, they will not work here.” He added that Nissan India has started conducting feasibility tests for the car in the country. It is confident of getting support from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) for introducing its electric vehicles. As per recent reports, the decision on domestic hybrid and electric automobile industry would be announced by the government in April 2012.
