Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co expects to “have a replacement for the Micra in India” by the end of 2016 when the production of a new Micra will be shifted to France, according to Andy Palmer, Chief Planning Officer.

In an interaction with newspersons, Palmer said the company “will still clearly have a product in that segment for the market here”, though it might change the name.

Nissan will have established itself sufficiently in the market by then to have a range of models, specifically for the domestic market to fully exploit the production capacity at its Chennai factory, Palmer said. This is also the reason for the company shifting the production of the new Micra to Europe, he added.

The Chennai factory, set up jointly with Renault as part of a global alliance, has a capacity of 4.80 lakh cars a year. In the last financial year, it manufactured three lakh units. In the first quarter of the current year, sales more than doubled to 14,684 units against 6,268 units a year ago.

While the numbers by themselves are modest, the trend is clear. Nissan Motor believes “the stars have started to align and we now start to get traction in numbers,” Palmer said.

Over the next two years, Nissan will have a combination of new products for the domestic and surrounding markets to fully take up the capacity in the factory.

Essentially, Nissan, which predominantly exports its cars, will soon be focussed on the domestic market, though exports will continue.

The growth will be driven by Nissan’s brand building, expanding the dealership network from about 128 outlets to over 300 to cover 98 per cent of the customer base and products specific to the markets, he said.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW