Nissan announces commencement of Micra

Nissan is in the headlines these days as it tries to increase its foothold in India. Be it the BMW Z4 and Porsche Boxster rivalling 370z or the to be launched Micra, Nissan seems to have going in the right direction.

They had a few announcements to be made regarding their to-be launched Micra. The most important was that they have started commercial production of the car here in India.

The car in question will be displayed in showrooms on May 25th and pre-order bookings will start the same day at a nominal amount of Rs.50,000. Micra ( codename – W02A) will be produced in Oragadam, Chennai at the Renault-Nissan plant. The 640 acre big plant is worth of 45 billion Rupees. 1900 workers are on duty now, which will be increased to 3000 in the next two years. The plant can produce 4,00,000 cars at its full capacity, while the initial production will be of 2,00,000 cars only.

The pricing is yet to be done, though expect this Nissan to be priced competetively. The sales will begin in July this year.

Being built on Nissan's V-platform opens up possibility of other models making it to the Indian market.

Nissan will use their Chennai facility to produce Micra for the international market too. As we reported earlier, they sent a batch of cars for testing in the international market too. The export will begin this September.

Source: Motoroids

Nissan to open Chennai Plant, First Micra will rollout in May!

We all know that Nissan's plant was coming up in the outskirts of Chennai. Time flies past so quick, the company announced that it is ready to open the plant within a months time. Nissan is set to build its flagship small car the Micra in the Chennai plant.

The company has also confirmed that the first of the cars manufactured in this plant will be rolled out in May this year.

The Micra manufactured in Chennai will be the latest model of Micra and it will be competing against an already overcrowded market. i20, Jazz, Figo, Beat, Ritz and the likes. However, the demand for this segment is so high that even with overcrowding manufacturers are set to show substantial sales to keep the momentum going.

Nissan Juke coming to India

Nissan has released pictures of its Sportscar/SUV crossover Juke which will be physically unveiled at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show in March. The press release issued by the manufacturer states that the Juke will be initially manufactured at its UK plant in Sunderland with sales slated to begin in October. With the Juke Nissan aims to usher in its crossover philosophy into the small car segment.

From the pictures it is evident that the Juke heavily incorporates design elements from the Qazana concept. The basic design theme of the Qazana including the unique front end design with four different headlamps, high waistline, 370Z inspired rear end, oversized wheel arches, and funky interiors featuring a centre console that resembles a motorcycle fuel tank have been carried over to the Juke.

In the Press Release issued by the manufacturer, Andy Palmer, Senior Vice President, Product Planning, Nissan, states that the Juke is a light, nimble, urban, reactive vehicle designed to grab a younger audience. He also stated that the Juke offers something entirely different to the traditional B-segment vehicles and cements Nissan as a car maker prepared to do something different.

Well, the most interesting aspect of the Juke is that its coming to India. The Juke will be manufactured at Nissan's Chennai plant and is likely to reach showrooms by late 2011. The Chennai plant is expected to be fully set-up by March this year. The Micra which is slated for a July launch is being manufactured at this plant. Both the Micra and the Juke are based on the highly versatile V-platform. It makes immense sense for Nissan to launch the Juke too as the platform will be shrared for both vehicles. Along with the small car Micra, Nissan will also be offering its new age crossover to the Indian car buyers.

Quick Facts:

•Five seater Sportscar/SUV crossover based on the Qazana concept
•Buyers will have three engine options to choose from namely two petrol and one diesel unit
•Petrol engine options include a naturally aspirated 1.6 litre engine producing 116PS and a tubo charged variant developing 190PS
•The car will also be offered to buyers with a 1.5 litre common rail diesel engine with a max power and torque output of 110 PS and 240 NM respectively.
•Transmission options include a 5-speed manual and 6-speed CVT with manual mode

•Front wheel drive will be offered as standard. A 4x4 variant featuring Torque Vectoring Technology for improved cornering will also be sold alongside the standard one
•Length-4000mm, Wheelbase-2500mm, Width-1765mm, Height-1570mm

Nissan launching Micra in July

Nissan yesterday confirmed that it will launch it's much awaited global city car, the Micra/March in India in July. The car, based on the V-Platform, will begin production in India in May 2010. Nissan-Renault's Chennai plant will be up and running by March this year and the Micra will be the first car to roll out of the factory. The Japanese carmaker will start exporting the small car from end of 2010 to European markets. While speaking to Dow Jones Newswires, Kiminobu Tokuyama, Nissan India's managing director, "We are well on track to open the new factory in March. Production will start in May and the first hatchback... will be sold from July."

Nissan aims to make a strong hold in the Indian market with a mass production vehicle like the Micra, as compared to small volume players like the Teana and the X-Trail. With a competitive price tag for the Micra, Nissan aims to take on its Japanese competitors like Suzuki, Toyota and Honda along with other players like VW, Tata and FIAT. Kiminobu Tokuyama concluded saying, "It's not too late, we are ready to challenge. We have come here to become a major player..."

Nissan 370z to be launched on 20th January

Expected Price: 45 Lakh (On-Road).
Specs: 3.7-litre V6, 332 bhp @ 7000 rpm, 366 Nm @ 5200 rpm


Just 2 days remain to the ‘Z’ cars launch in India. One of Japan’s most popular coupes will soon be landing up in Nissan showrooms across the metros. Known as one of the most entertaining coupes to drive, the 370Z stands in stark contrast to its clinical German adversaries. Elsewhere in the world it is also priced a good couple of lakh rupees cheaper than its rivals. It also debuts with a clever gizmo which automatically blips the throttle and matches the revs to the engine speed on downshifts, even with the manual gearbox!



But as the 370Z is coming through the CBU route, India will get only the top of the line versions, just like the Boxster. Sadly, the real ‘value for money’, variants won’t make it to our shores thanks to the 40,000$ minimum price limit enforced by our government on CBU imports. The Z car might not be anywhere in the league of its big brother GT-R but it will be a worthy adversary to German coupes be it the Porsche Boxster, Audi TT, BMW Z4 or the Mercedes SLK.
 

 

Nissan confirms 370Z launch In Jan 2010!

Yes! The news is official. Nissan Motor India has formally announced that it will be launching the 370Z in the country next month. The company will be launching the car in India through the conventional CBU route.

Speaking to the media, Suresh Rangarajan, spokesperson for Nissan, said that the 370Z will be introduced in India from January and shall be third in the series of fully imported cars launched here after the X-Trail and Teana. He also said that the company has plans to introduce a fourth model in India through the CBU route but is yet to finalise the model. He did not reveal any details about the pricing of its sports coupe.

According to Kiminobu Tokuyama, CEO and Managing Director, Nissan Motor India, Nissan has a global market share of 5.67% and targets to achieve 5.5% market share in India within 3-5 years post the launch of its upcomming plant in Chennai. He further said that the plant is expected to up and running by May 2010.

When quizzed further about how Nissan intends to utilize its Chennai plant, Tokuyama said that the facility shall initially be manufacturing premium hatchback cars in the B+ segment and shall be the hub for global sourcing. He also confirmed that Nissan has taken a decision to end production of its small car Micra at its manufacturinf facility in UK and shift its production at the upcomming Chennai plant.

Nissan is also increasing its dealership network in the country. It recently unvieled a new dealership outlet in Gujrat increasing its total count in India to nine.