Summary
Nissan Motor India Private Ltd. (NMIPL) is a completely owned subsidiary of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd, the Japanese auto maker. The company forayed into Indian market in year 2005. Along with its global ally, Renault, Nissan has established a manufacturing unit and a R & D unit near Chennai. Nissan recently revived its oldest low cost brand- the Datsun. The firm is presently selling two Datsun vehicles in the Indian automotive segment. Its headquarters are located in the capital city of Tamil Nadu - Chennai.
In thebeginning, Nissan Motor India Private Limited commenced its journey by introducing CBUs (Completely Built Units) to Indian passenger market. Its SUV, the X-trail, was its first product that came to the markets in 2005. Later in year 2007, Nissan launched two other car models - the 370Z sportscar and Teana Saloon. While it continued to import its highly expensive vehicles, its cars meant for mass markets - Micra, Evalia, and Sunny - were produced locally. The company also designs and trades GO hatchback and GO+ MPV for its economy friendly brand - Datsun - in India
Executive Management
Currently, it is Mr. Arun Malhotra who holds the position of Managing Director of Nissan India. He directly reports to the President of Nissan India Operations - Guillaume Sicard. Prior coming to Nissan, Arun was in association with the homegrown car maker, Mahindra & Mahindra, and worked there as the chief of International Sales and Marketing for the automobile & agricuture sector.
Indian Operations
Nissan along with its global partner Renault India signed a MoU with the Tamil Nadu Government for setting up a manufacturing unit in Oragadam, Chennai. The company also announced a hefty 45 billion Indian Rupees investment in a 7 year period for this production facility. Within 21 months of this declaration, the manufacturing unit commenced its operations on March 17, 2010. This plant has a huge rolling out capacity of around 4.80 lakh units. Moreover, the association is also rolling out the famous K9K oil burners for India. The engine empowers both Nissan and Renault cars in the country. The alliance has also put in its money in a state-of-the-art Global R & D center. This Research & Development unit has employed around 2000 engineers for supporting product customization and innovation.
The company also exports its vehicles to a number of international markets. The auto maker is at present the second largest car exporter of India. It exports vehicles to more than one hundred nations including Middle East, Europe, and Africa from India.
Product & Services
Nissan currently owns around 159 dealerships that cover in total 113 cities across the country. To achieve its highly ambitious plan of getting hold on 10 per cent market slice, the Japanese auto maker aims to expand this dealership network to approx. 300 point by 2016.
Environmental Initiatives
Nissan is yet to launch any electric, CNG, or hybrid cars in Indian market. However, it is committed to it promise of offering eco-friendly vehicles. Nissan Motor Company recently introduced a new 6-year plan for environment - the Nissan Green Program 2016. The program focuses mainly on three specific areas - reducing the carbon footprint, increasing resources diversity of resources and shifting to all available renewable energy resources. You may expect highly fuel efficient Nissan cars with alternate fuel technology in near future.
Founder & First Car
Nissan Motor Company Ltd is a multinational automobile maker that is headquartered in Japan. However, the automaker commenced its operations with Datsun. The name “DAT” came after its partners' family names - Mr. Kenjiro Den, Mr. Rokuro Aoyama & Mr. Meitaro Takeuchi. In year 1918, its name was modified to Kwaishinsha Motorcar Co. This name was transferred back to DAT Motorcar Co. after seven years in 1925. DAT Motors was best reckoned for its passenger cars and trucks. Since majority of its sales were coming from trucks, it could hardly make any profits from passenger cars. It was the next year, 1926, when DAT Motors ran into an association with Jitsuyo Jidosha Corporation Limited. Finally It didn’t become the DAT Automobile Manufacturing Company Limited tilll 1932.
In 1928, Yoshisuke Aikawa established a new holding company called Nippon Sangyo. The name -“ Nissan” was coined in 1930s which was actually an abbreviation used in the Tokyo Stock market to represent Nippon Sangyo. In year 1931, DAT Motors launched a small car called the "Datson". Later in year 1933, Nissan tookover DAT Motors and the ending syllable of Datson was modified into "sun". During the Second World War, Datsun and Nissan designed vehicles for their national army. Nissan entered into a legal contract with the Austin UK for developing the Seven in Japan. For the next one and a half decade, Nissan kept on producing vehicles under the badge name of Austin Motor Company and also produced engines for its domestic market. During these years, the brand gained popularity in the American car market, credits its 240Z Coupe.
USP
Nissan cars are reckoned around the world for their supreme performance and exclusively premium features. Indian buyers, however, still favor budget friendly and fuel saving cars. So, the vehicles offered by this brand promise both performance and lower fuel bills in a competitive price range. This is the main reason why fuel saving Nissan cars like Sunny and Micra gained such popularity in a very short period of time.
Resale Value
Resale value of Nissan cars in India is quite decent; however, it is little lower as compared to leading carmakers of India like Maruti Suzuki , Honda, and Hyundai. Its lower maintenance costs have also played a significant role in deciding the upscale value of its vehicles in the used car market.
Competition
Nissan Motor India aims to acquire around 10 per cent slice of the Indian automobile market; however, the competition is very stiff in the Indian market. The Japanese car maker is currently facing a rough competition from Ford India, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, and Renault.
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