Official:Nissan to make India global production and export hub for new Micra in 2010

[sidindica]

Autocar - New factory for next Nissan Micra

The new Nissan Micra will be built at a new plant near Chennai, India, the company has announced.
The factory, which will has a capactiy of 200,000 vehicles, is set to become operational by June next year. Nissan predicts that European exports will account for between 60 and 70 per cent of total production.


“It’s been difficult for us to make money on small cars in Europe,” said senior executive Colin Dodge. “But we’re not going to India just to lower costs. We want to be in the Indian market, and to be in India, you have to build cars there.”
The company hopes to achieve a five per cent market share in India through its new factory and expects Renault, its aillaince partner, to utilise the facility in due course.

[monty9991]

yes the company will be launching its new models like micra, murano and others in the span of 2-3 yrs.
micra will be launched next year and will be exporting it from india.

actully we have leased out our plot to the nissan's showroom in ludhiana which will be functional by diwali. i got this little info from them.

[AyAn!]

Nissan Micra India Plant | Car news, Car reviews, Spy shots and Videos - 4wheelsnews.com
A new plant near Chennai, India, will be manufacturing the new Nissan Micra, starting June 2010. The factory is built to have a capacity of 200,000 vehicles. Nissan expects that European exports will account for 60-70% of the total production. Senior executive Colin Dodge explained the company’s difficulty to sell small cars in Europe. He added that the factory in India wasn’t only built to cut costs but that Nissan intends to enter the Indian market and aims a 5% market share in India through its new factory. Renault is expected to utilize the facility in the future.

[?ushk@r]

Damn, that's one ugly car after A-Star (sorry A-Star fans) It comes with 1.2, 1.4, 1.5 & 1.6 engines abroad, I think they will be launching the 1.2 variant here!

[brakehorsepower]

check this out.... i just found this on the net...looks ugly...

[romeomidhun]

In my view, Nissan Micra (or March) is not a bad looking car, but 'has a lot of character', looks stylish and and will create a lot of fans. It's just like the Swift, which has a love-me-or-hate-me character.

[dhrishikesh]

Micra is really nice looking car....has a mighty character...
Nissan have been consistently using it in British Rallies from around 2000.

[aaggoswami]

The success of this car will depend a lot upon pricing. I think that Nissan is not having the brand image of Honda to support high pricing like Honda have done with Jazz.

At the most, IMHO, anything above Rs. 6-7 lakh OTR will be suicidal for this car. By that time Toyota small car will also be here ( around 2011 ). There was recently a news that skin panels for Toyota's small car will by supplied by TATA and the car is coming out in 2011.

Again a small can do wonders if this car is targeting Jazz. A new threat will be new Swift too.

Tough competition = good for consumers.

[LandCruiser]

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

Again a small can do wonders if this car is targeting Jazz. A new threat will be new Swift too.

Micra is smaller than a Jazz I think. Can compete with i10 or similar.

[Gagan.js]

I don't think maruti and hyundai are going to be worried about this...

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by LandCruiser

Micra is smaller than a Jazz I think. Can compete with i10 or similar.

IIRC, the length of current Micra car is around 371Xmm.
The overall length of i10 is 3565mm. Overall wheelbase for Micra ( current generation ) is 2430mm. The overall wheelbase for I10 is 2380mm.
Clearly, Micra is bigger than I10 and more in league of Swift.
Now the latest version is coming to India. I think that the new generation of Micra car will be bigger than I10 and rather closer to cars like I20. You are correct that the car can be smaller than Jazz. But pricing that car at Rs. 7 lakh OTR with a less than 1500cc diesel ( for tax benefits ) is what comes to my mind.

I don't think maruti and hyundai are going to be worried about this

I agree with you. Nissan has been trying to be a " premium player " in Indian market. IMHO, with the new car they will be targetting at Jazz and new Toyota small car. The only thing they need to worry about is next generation Swift that is bigger than current Swift.

[theMAG]

I doubt that it would be launched in India -atleast in the timeframe mentioned. To launch a small car would mean catering to the masses; which in turn translates to a wide-spread and affordable authorized service network; which Nissan in India currently is nowhere close to.

[speedmiester]

Nissan Micra is one ugly car with scary handling. I was unfortunate enough to drive that car for 2 days (This was the car given to us by the car rental company). Hated every minute of it. Get it over 60mph, it literally scares you. Feels like a boat.
I do not think the Indian version would be any better.

[Zappo]

I doubt Nissan will ever try to compete in the mass market. That will only happen if they change their strategy for India completely, which will mean a bye bye to Teana, the X-Trail and the likes.

Over the years it has been proven again and again that if you wish to be a mass market player you can not be a premium market leader or even go anywhere close to it. Hyundai has learnt that time and again. Similarly Maruti knows how difficult it is to sell its SUV here. However the reverse can hold good. You can first launch yourself as a premium brand and then over the years as you establish yourself you can launch a small car albeit at a premium again, and still expect to do decent business in both the classes. Honda is doing that and to a lesser extent even Skoda is trying that trick.

[AyAn!]

X-Trail,Teana and then Micra.And nothing in between for now..such a huge void in Nissan's line-up.The Micra's going to miss out outside metros and big cities.I think they should make their presence felt in the market first,and then launch the Micra.Fill the gaps,increase the dealer and service nerwork.