Nissan Motor India, a popular automobile manufacturer, has reported that it is going to increase the prices of its hatchback Micra and sedan Sunny. The price hike will be between 0.56 per cent and 2.09 per cent to combat the effects of devaluation of the Indian rupee and the increasing input costs.
As per Nissan India, the prices of the three petrol variants of Micra will rise by Rs. 3,000, whereas Rs. 12,000 will be added to the prices of the diesel variant. At the moment, the petrol powered Micra falls in the price range of Rs. 4.10 lacs to Rs. 5.38 lacs (ex-showroom Delhi). The Micra, with a diesel engine, has a price tag ranging from Rs. 5.72 lacs to Rs. 6.17 lacs (ex-showroom Delhi).
The three petrol variants of Nissan Sunny will see a hike in price by Rs. 5,000. This model was launched in India in September 2011 and is currently priced between Rs. 5.78 lacs and Rs. 7.68 lacs (ex-showroom Delhi). The price of the diesel version of Sunny, launched in January 2012, is not going to be revised and will fall within the price bracket of Rs. 7.98 lacs and Rs. 8.78 lacs. Dealerships across the country have started taking bookings for Sunny, since December 2011.
Kiminobu Tokuyama, Managing Director, Nissan Motor India, said "The rising input costs and depreciating rupee have left us with no option but to revisit the prices of our models in order to maintain our business momentum."
Since its launch in July 2010, more than 25,000 units of Micra have been sold in the Indian market. Around 3,663 units of Sunny were sold till December 2011. Nissan India that sells more Indian built Micra abroad than in India aims to sell around 40,000 units by the end of the current fiscal. The company had managed to sell only 13,000 in the last financial year.
Nissan is also expanding its dealership network across India to enhance sales. The company plans to increase its dealership network to twice the existing number in order to reach out to about 85 per cent of the Indian automobile market.
In the meantime, Nissan India will introduce its third Indian made model Evalia, which was built through an alliance with Ashok Leyland. It is a 7-seater passenger van that will hit the Indian roads later this year. It will compete with Toyota Innova in the Indian automobile market.
