In the financial year 2014-15, Nissan Motor India posted its highest ever growth with sales of 47,474 units with a growth rate of 24.2 per cent year-on-year. At the time, the company had set a target of achieving 5 per cent of market share in the Indian passenger vehicle market by FY21. However, the story didn’t go as planned.
As of FY24, Nissan Motor India had a market share of less than one per cent. While the company hadnearly 18 products in India till 2019, including models from Datsun, it was down to only two products from 2020 onwards, with Datsun being discontinued in 2022. While the Nissan Kicks was later discontinued in April 2023, it is the Nissan Magnite that was and is still keeping the company afloat since 2020.
Now though, with the new strategy, the Magnite facelift will act as the starting point for Nissan Motor India to get back on track. The company had earlier announced that it plans to launch the Magnite facelift by the end of FY25. While the new updated model will bring back the tempo for Nissan Motor India, it will also aid the company in making a presence in the global scheme of things.
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In an conversation HT Auto, Saurabh Vatsa, MD, Nissan Motor India emphasised that while Nissan has been absent from the radar for quite some time, the company is now committed to serve the market with its new plan.
Nissan Magnite facelift: A turning point for Nissan
The action starts with the Nissan Magnite facelift. Ever since its launch, the Nissan Magnite has sold over 1.5 lakh units. Since its launch in 2020, the product has sold over 1.05 lakh units in the domestic market, averaging around 3,000 units per month. It has also performed well in the export market, with more than 35,000 units shipped since June 2021. The current generation Magnite is being exported to 17 nations. These nations are right hand drive markets.
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With the new upcoming model, Nissan Motor India plans to start exporting the Nissan Magnite to across 40 nations which will include left hand drive markets as well. With this, Vatsa stated that the Nissan Magnite will become a global car, which will be designed and manufactured in India. And this will be the theme for Nissan Motor India under the ‘The Arc’ strategy, which is set to guide the company from 2024 to 2026.
Vatsa explained that Nissan Motor India is now flipping the strategy with the mid-term plan. He explained that the company has launched almost 13 to 14 nameplates (only under the Nissan brand) in India for the last 15 years, and invested $1.8 billion in India. Out of these, some of the cars were straight away plucked from the international lineup and brought to India with the hope of selling them in the country. But that didn’t work out.
So with the ‘The Arc’ strategy, Nissan Motor India is focusing on developing cars for India with global specs in mind. The MD explained that with the Magnite, Nissan has learnt that it is very important to develop a India specific car first to cater to the Indian market. This will automatically make them global cars as the Indian audience have a taste for value for money products, while the Indian regulation, be it in terms of safety or emission, is at par with the global markets.
More products under ‘The Arc’ strategy
Beyond launching the new Magnite, Nissan Motor India has also committed to launch two C-segment SUV with one being a five seater and other a seven seater, alongside an electric vehicle.
The C-segment SUV or the compact SUV segment is currently densely populated with 11 products in the segment starting from the likes of Hyundai Creta to the new bees like the Tata Curvv. Even with so many players in the market, let alone the established ones, Vatsa seems confident that the new C-segment SUVs from Nissan will fare well in the market.
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He stated that Indian customers are looking for something fresh, and these customers are willing to go for newer products in the market. “Those days of loyalty to brands have started diminishing. It’s more product, freshness, content, better technology and styling with more features, which are driving the decision making of the buyers,” he added.
With an investment of $600 million, the two C-segment Nissan SUVs will also be ‘made in India, made for the world products’, just like the Magnite, the MD explained. He added that, unlike other C-segment SUVs that offer both five- and seven-seater versions with similar design, the two upcoming Nissan SUVs will feature distinct exterior and interior designs to cater to different customer preferences, while sharing the same underpinning.
This is something that has been seen with the Kia Seltos and the Carens. Additionally, both the five seater and the seven seater SUVs from Nissan will have extra focus on technology, especially on the connectivity side, Vatsa revealed.
Taking a balanced approach, in addition to internal combustion engine models, Nissan Motor India is also committed to launch an affordable electric SUV in the market by FY26. Although the segment has not been finalised yet (whether it will be a B-SUV or an A-SUV), Nissan has committed to making the model affordable. The company believes that achieving this affordability will require full localisation in India, with plans to establish a complete ecosystem for the product within the country.
Vatsa explained that all the products under the ‘The Arc’ strategy are being developed with a three pronged strategy in mind. He stated that all the products under the strategy will be a SUV with each product carrying Japanese DNA. Moreover, all the products will have a strong focus on technology including mechanical technology and connectivity.
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Beyond these India focused products, Nissan Motor India also plans to bring in some of its global products like the X-Trail which was launched earlier. The core idea behind the move is not to get volumes but to showcase the company’s capabilities, the MD explained.
Hitting the target
With all the new products in the pipeline, Nissan Motor India plans to achieve annual domestic sales of one lakh units by FY26 from the current 35,000 units in FY24. This would include the India made products as well as the CBU products. Interestingly, with the India made products, the company further plans to export one lakh units by FY26. This would mean that the company’s total production will witness a 3X jump to two lakh units per year by FY26.
Vatsa explained that currently the installed capacity of the Renault Nissan Alliance’s facility in Chennai stands at 4.8 lakh units annually. With the target for FY26 under the ‘The Arc’ strategy along with Renault’s expansion plan, the Alliance will be utilising 80 per cent of the total installed capacity of the plant.
Interestingly, with this roadmap, Nissan Motor India will also play a key role in the global ‘The Arc’ strategy laid out by the Japanese carmaker. Nissan plans to sell three lakh units in theAMIEO region made up of Africa, Middle East, India, Europe (including Russia) and Oceania, out of which one lakh units are to be sold in India while another one lakh will be exported from India.
“Nissan, while it has been fairly silent, has actually put a robust roadmap for India. It is now all committed, and we are coming to the party slowly going to start rolling out the plan,” Vatsa concluded.
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First Published Date: 13 Sep 2024, 09:00 AM IST