Nissan surges ahead of ally Renault in Q1

It is over 15 years since Renault played the knight in shining armour for a beleaguered Nissan.

In 2008, the two set up their first global manufacturing alliance with the honour going to India. Nissan paved the way with the Micra whose production shifted here from the UK. In the process, it had a ready menu of export markets.

For the April-June quarter of this fiscal (SIAM data), Nissan has outscored its partner both in domestic sales and exports. In passenger cars, the Japanese automaker notched up 9,514 units in the Indian market, a near 50 per cent jump from last year’s 6,087 units.

Renault, on the other hand, saw a steep decline to 913 cars from 3,577 cars in Q1 last year. Exports for Nissan’s cars, likewise, jumped over 50 per cent to 20,314 (13,777) units while it was zilch in the case of Renault. According to an industry observer, while Nissan's Micra and Sunny are doing brisk business, Renault’s Pulse and Scala, which are clones of the two Nissan models, have failed to take off. However, the French automaker has a happier story to narrate in its SUV business where it is comfortably ahead of its ally. Renault sold 10,347 units of its Duster (down from last year’s 15,044 units) while Nissan clocked 5,168 units of the recently launched Terrano. Will the Terrano eventually outdo the Duster by the end of the fiscal?

Renault is, however, upbeat about next year which will see the launch of its global compact car and an MPV. Nissan, likewise, has indicated that it is working on a slew of models. Clearly, the Japanese automaker has come a long way since the time it was thrown a lifeline by Renault.