Nissan To Launch 370Z Sport Car In January 2010 & Micra By Mid 2010 In India

Nissan 370Z By Jan 2010, Micra By Mid 2010 & 2011 Launches Details Unveiled

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Japanese auto maker Nissan Motor Company, which plans to launch a compact car in India after six months, showcased a sedan on Tuesday. The car is to be built on the same platform as the compact car, but will not serve the low-cost concept.

Senior officials of Nissan Motor stated that the company had largely frozen the design and concept of the sedan, which will be positioned as a premium product that would perhaps take on the likes of Chevrolet Cruze, Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla Altis.

2011 Launches:

The sedan would be launched in 2011. It incorporates futuristic styling, including large swooping headlights, tight lines running on the side doors, aggressive front facia and a sporty-looking but compact boot.

The company also displayed pictures of its yet-to-be-named compact car to reporters. Nissan is gearing up to launch the new compact car in May 2010 from the Chennai manufacturing facility, which is equally owned by French car maker Renault. The trial production of the small car — which will compete with Hyundai i10, Maruti Suzuki A-star and Chevrolet Spark, among other models — will begin next month.

Reporters were also shown pictures of a third model which would be positioned as a multi-purpose vehicle. This third vehicle, also to be made on the same platform, may or may not be sold in India as the company is yet to take a decision on the same.

Nissan India is also planning to launch its sports car 370Z in India by January 2010. The company has drawn up an aggressive plan for India which will see a business model comprising five locally-made cars and four imported models by 2012.

Taena, X-trail models:

The company considers India as one of the key market and expects to sell 300-odd units of its Teana and X-trail models, which have already been launched in the Indian market. It has appointed Hover Automotive India as its service partner for marketing, sales, after-sales service and dealer development in the country.

Under the service provision agreement, Hover will undertake the implementation of Nissan’s marketing and sales strategy and support dealer development in India.

Speaking to Business Standard, Hover Automotive India Vice-Chairman G M Singh said: “We are planning to launch the sports car 370Z in India by January 2010. Although, the market size for sports car is small, the demand will definitely increase in the near future and we are bullish on it.”

Nissan to set up manufacturing unit in Chennai:

He added Nissan is already investing close to $1.4 billion for setting up a manufacturing facility in Chennai, having an initial installed capacity of 200,000 units per annum and which can be upgraded to 400,000 units per annum.

The new plant is likely to be operational in the first half of 2010.

Hatchback Micra by mid 2010:

The company has plans to launch its hatchback car Micra also in first half of 2010. Singh added: “Micra will be built on new platform and we will launch the car by the end of June 2010.”

It has also plans to export Micra to Europe and 100 other countries.

Nissan India, which already imports the X-Trail SUV and the Teana sedan as CBUs (completely built-up units), plans to sell over 300-odd units of these cars. On the supplier front, he added that the company has plans to source 70-80 per cent of the components locally over a period of time.

“We have already opened seven dealerships across India and plan to take the number up to 18 by the end of this financial year,” Singh said.

[Source: BusinessStandard]