Nissan set to enter small car market

Japan's Nissan Motor today admitted that it was eyeing India's burgeoning small and compact car market.

Two days after General Motors (GM) entered the fray with its Spark, Nissan said it would step into the compact and small car market as it would like to be a formidable player in the country.

Currently, Nissan's presence in India is limited to sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and luxury sedans. "To be competitive in India, we need to have a presence in the compact and small car segment. We are keen to enter the volume and low-price segment," Nissan Motor India Managing Director Yoshie Motohiro said.

The company on Thursday introduced its luxury sedan Teana priced at Rs 20.47 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

It will manufacture compact cars from its Chennai facility,  being set up under a three-way joint venture (JV) with Renault and Mahindra & Mahindra.

"Besides products from the Chennai plant, we are also looking at introducing the small car model, which will be sourced from Suzuki, in the Indian market," she said.

The small and compact car segment has become increasingly crowded of late. Maruti Zen Estilo was launched in December last year, just after the Xeta range of the 1200cc petrol Indica by Tata Motors and before Chevrolet U-VA by General Motors. The Fiat Palio Stile and Getz Prime by Hyundai were both launched early this month.

Motohiro, however, reiterated that in the "second phase of its business in India, marked by the introduction of Teana, the company would be focusing on brand building through its premium offerings".

"We have two more years before the Chennai plant goes onstream. In this period, we are also looking at enhancing portfolio imported through the completely built-up unit route," she said. On the product offering and marketing side, Motohiro said despite the company being a party to the tripartite JV, Nissan would be going it alone.

"The badging of the products, sales network, distribution and service will be on our own," she said. Asked about the reported talks with Suzuki for sharing of sales and distribution network in India, Motohiro denied any such moves at present.