Friday, February 1, 2013

Nissan plans entry-level car to tap the market of fisrt time car buyers


Chennai:
Nissan plans to capture 10 per cent of Indian car market share with the launch of 10 more new models in the next three years. It is also planning to launch a new entry level car under Datsun brand to tap the market of first time car buyers.

Addressing a press conference here on Friday, chief operating officer of Nissan Toshiyuki Shiga said that the
entry level car will be sold at a cost of R 4 lakh and the aim is to attract those who want to buy their first car. Interestingly, he denied that the car would be a cheap one but said that it would appeal to the local market in India and Indonesia. “The aim is to get them familiarize with Datsun and build a trust so that they will eventually graduate to buying the global brands of Nissan,” he said.

Interestingly, Nissan is studying the distribution network for this entry -level car for which it is planning additional investments in India. But Shiga refused to divulge on the kind of investment the company will be making.

Nissan is also planning to launch compact sports utility vehicle besides fuel-efficient continuously variable transmission (CVT) Micra and Sunny. Interestingly, this all comes in the wake of Nissan’s growth in China being hit over China-Japan conflict over ownership of some Islands. But Shiga is confident the issue will be resolved soon with the change in leadership in Japan and China soon.

“We are targeting 10 per cent of Indian car market share by 2016 and has plans to increase our dealership from 95 to 300 in India,” he said.

Interestingly, Nissan is also planning to expand its capacity. Takayuki Ishida, managing director and chief executive officer at Nissan Motor India said the company is studying options of setting up the expansion plant in or outside Tamil Nadu.

Currently, the Franco-Japanese automotive joint venture Renault Nissan Automotive India (RNAIPL) plant has a total capacity of 400,000 units on three shift basis and caters to the needs of Nissan and Renault.

Nissan also hopes to close the current fiscal with a domestic sales of around 50,000 units and double it in 2013. The company is also planning to increase the dealer network to around 150 outlets from the current 95.

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