Nissan Motor India Private Limited (NMIPL), a completely owned subsidiary of Japanese multinational automobile giant Nissan Motor Co., has revealed intentions to introduce 10 new models in the domestic passenger car market by the end of 2016. The ambitious target underlines the company's aggressive strategy directed at expanding its product portfolio and market share in the country. Among the upcoming new Nissan cars, automatic variants of Micra, Sunny and a badge engineered Duster model are expected to be launched first in the country.
The first new model to arrive on Indian turf will be an automatic variant of Nissan Micra premium hatch. The automatic Micra CVT will incorporate the current petrol engine powering its manual variant. Upon its launch in the Indian auto market, the Nissan Micra CVT is expected to pose some stiff competition against the likes of Hyundai i10 AT, Maruti Suzuki Ritz AT and Honda Brio AT.
After automatic variant of Micra hatch, the Japanese auto major is anticipated to bring another automatic model- Sunny sedan in the country. The new Nissan Sunny model will be sporting the cutting-edge X-Tronic CVT gearbox, which was recently introduced in its badge engineered twin sister Renault Scala sedan. Industry experts believe that Nissan will pitch its Sunny CVT with a slightly humble pricing as compared to the Scala automatic in the country. Upon its arrival in Indian auto market, Nissan Sunny CVT will compete against other automatic segment contenders, such as Hyundai Verna, Honda City, Skoda Rapid and Volkswagen Vento.
Nissan Motor India is also expected to introduce a new model in compact Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) guise, another badge engineered model built on the same platform of Renault Duster. The Japanese auto major can possibly introduce its low-cost Datsun brand in Indian passenger car market as well.
