Nissan on Wednesday launched it’s Terrano Premium compact Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) in India and said it will set the pace for future product launches slated for 2014.
Addressing reporters after the launch of the SUV here, president of Nissan India Operations Kenichiro Yomura said that Terrano is the first locally manufactured compact SUV from Nissan and marks Nissan’s entry into the fast growing compact SUV segment.
The price range starts from `9.58 lakh (ex-showroom Chennai) and will be available in seven variants across three engine options – 110PS diesel, 85PS diesel and 104PS petrol.
Yomura said that the SUV was different from Renault’s Duster. The overall clean design of the car was accentuated by imposing Nissan heritage grill, which emphasised tough, solid and durable attributes.
He said that Nissan will be rolling out 3,000 units a month. The pre-sales bookings were around 6,000 units and the waiting period was two months, he added.
Yomura also said that Nissan would be launching the Datsun, whose model was unveiled in July this year, in January. He also ruled out plans for a new plant stating that the current plant had adequate capacity for the production of 4,00,000 units and to upgrade to manufacture 4,80,000 units. “Only if the sales and exports exceed 4,80,000, we will think of a new plant,” he said.
The current financial year sales target of one lakh cars by Nissan looks doubtful.
“We have sold 13,000 cars this financial year,” said Yomura, while highlighting the dull auto sector market. “The market condition is not favourable,” he said.
The first quarter of the financial year had been dismal for the automobile industry as sales, exports and production declined. The sales of passenger vehicles declined by 7.49 per cent during April-July 2013 over the same period last year.
But Yomura said that this did not deter Nissan’s plans in India. “Our aspiration is to be in India,” he said. Interestingly, Nissan plans to capture 10 per cent of Indian car market share with the launch of new models in the next three years.
The company is also planning to increase the dealer network to around 300 outlets, said Yomura.