[aaggoswami]

Micra is mostly coming in July, read this news.
This is sort of bad news. I was expecting the car in around March or April or in worst case, in May. This is way too much delay and basically the launch is in second half of 2010.

Are they not able to tune those small three cylinders for power and FE ? Or has beat really beaten them to price ? And the additional pressure of wagon R and Alto updated versions.

At the end of the day, they are late. Near Diwali period they were talking that at Auto Expo they are going to display the car. Slowly and steadily they are falling behind from their earlier promised schedule.

Did I mention Figo pressure ?

Source : Nissan to sell small car in India from July

Article :

NEW DELHI: Japanese automaker Nissan announced Wednesday it will sell its first small car in India from July, as international firms race to compete
in the country's booming consumer economy.

Small cars, or hatchbacks, comprise nearly two-thirds of total car sales in India, and Nissan's Japanese rival Suzuki controls more than half of the market through local brand name Maruti.

"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," Kiminobu Tokuyama, Nissan India's managing director, told Dow Jones Newswires.

The company said it planned to export the vehicle from late 2010 and establish India as a global manufacturing hub.

Nissan's small car model will help the firm tap the growing Indian car market, which is forecast to triple to six million cars from two million in a decade.

The country is fast turning into a battleground as global carmakers such as Ford and Toyota seek new growth regions to offset anaemic Western sales.

"It's not too late, we are ready to challenge. We have come here to become a major player," Tokuyama said. "At this moment, it is the most important market for Nissan after Russia and China."

[thainogkok]

build new Chennai factory


The Chennai factory will have an initial manufacturing capacity of 200,000 cars a year and this will be doubled over the next seven years, Mr. Tokuyama said.
He said India will be among five countries globally, including Thailand, China and Mexico, where the new small car will be manufactured.
The new small car–likely to be a next generation of Nissan’s Micra model–will be exported to more than 100 countries globally, including those in Europe, the Middle-East and Africa.
“India is an important hub for Nissan’s global sourcing. We will start exporting the small car from the fourth quarter of 2010,” Mr. Tokuyama said.
The company aims to export 110,000 units of the small car and sedan by 2011, increasing it to 180,000 in the next few years, he added.


readmore
Nissan to Start Selling Small Car Nissan March/micra in India and export it to Europe from July 2010

[geeash]

The car definitely looks so cute. probably my wifey will be interested!!

[aaggoswami]

Came across news that Nissan is planning to launch 9 cars in a span of 3 years.

Source : Nissan to launch 9 car models over 3 years

Article :

Nissan Motor India Pvt Limited (NMIPL) plans to launch a total of nine car models in India over the next three years. Sourcing of auto components for export which begins from this year, will total up to $ 70 million by the end of 2012, Mr Kiminobu Tokuyama, MD and CEO, NMIPL, said.

We have plans to export components sourced from India to Thailand, China and Japan. The value will be $10 million during 2010, $20 million in 2011 and $40 million in 2012, Mr Tokuyama said.

The company has appointed 97 suppliers, which will help local content in the compact hatchback, due to roll out of Chennai in May, to be around 85 per cent from the first day. Products such as engine pistons, clutch discs and starter motors will be among those items that will be procured for exports.

In Pune to inaugurate Nissan's seventh dealership, Mr Tokuyama said that five of the nine models due for launch in India till 2012 will be made at the company's Chennai facility. Three of them will be on the newly-developed compact car V' platform. The first will be a hatchback, followed by a sedan in 2011, while the third model is yet to be finalised, he said. The remaining four models will be imported as completely-built up (CBU) cars from Japan.

[indivic]

One point I forgot to indicate which I recollected after reading GTOs TD of the Figo was that at braking the tail lights of the Micras I followed started flashing. They were amber and certainly quite visible at night.

I think it is quite a good safety feature.

[Fraz33r]

Found some pics on the internet of nissan micra doing rounds in the UK, testing.











The Nissan Leaf seems to be a different car altogether (ans is completely electric)

[aryashiv1]

Nissan Micra has been unvieled to the journalists as per Autocar however no photography was allowed and the interiors were not shown. Nissan will officially show case & unviel the Micra at the Geneva Auto Show.

From Autocar

"Fuel efficiency and low weight are among the strengths of the V-platform. The key here is an all-new lightweight and fuel-efficient three-cylinder 1.2-litre engine which has an offset crankshaft and low-friction piston rings for better efficiency. Nissan says it has tuned the engine for driveability and low-end torque to suit the Micra’s urban focus. Nissan says the new Micra will be nearly 10 percent more fuel efficient than its closest rivals. Tipping the scales at an estimated 970kg, the Micra will be one of the lightest cars in its class and matched only by the smaller Swift. The Micra will also get a 1.5-litre turbo-diesel, the same Renault K9K unit which powers the Logan. Power output is likely to be the same as the Renault but in the substantially lighter Micra the 65bhp engine will feel significantly more powerful and efficient too.
There is no indication of prices but given how big Nissan is betting on the Micra, it’s likely to be pegged head-on against the segment leader, the Suzuki Swift, and so you can expect a price of just under Rs 4 lakh for the base model."

Its really going to a hot battle amongst the hatches in coming months.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by aryashiv1

Its really going to a hot battle amongst the hatches in coming months.

IMO, its getting confusing, complicated and boring with all manufacturers trying to take the same route! No manufacturers are trying to take any risks in this segment, and all of them want their products to imitate Swift's success formula!

[fz_rider]

Courtesy: IAB

[fz_rider]

Official pictures courtesy Autocarindia.com:

[fz_rider]

Some more pics. courtesy Netcarshow.com :

[harishnair]

The looks are much more bearable compared to the previous gen. Micra, but still a long way from being called good-looking. The Interior design is interesting particularly the A/C controls and the speedo.

[indivic]

The test mules I saw had these interiors (the black ones on the auto variant). My impression is that though even though not claustrophobic like in Swift, Nissan should come up with some other options atleast for the seats.

Note from Mod : The new Micra has been unveiled. Please continue the discussion over on this link.

Thread closed.