By Bhargav TS
Japanese auto major, Nissan Motor Company is targeting ten per cent market share in India by 2016 by launching ten new models. In the fiscal year 2013-2014, the company plans to roll out four products including a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) version of both the Micra hatchback and the Sunny saloon, followed by a ‘Compact SUV’ and the Datsun cars.
Chief Operating Officer of Nissan Motor Company, Toshiyuki Shiga, says, “Our vision is to capture a market share of ten per cent in India by 2016. Currently, our market share in India’s passenger vehicle segment is around 1.5 to 1.6 per cent. We expected the Indian car market to be in the region of around 4.7 million units by 2016 and ten per cent of that would be around 400,000 units. To achieve this target, the company is planning to launch ten models till 2016 and planning to expand the dealer network to 300 from the current 95.”
Earlier, in mid-2011, Nissan announced its new mid-term business plan, Nissan Power 88, which will focus on the major emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China, as well as newly developing ones in Southeast Asia. By the end of fiscal 2016, the company aims to achieve a global market share of 8 per cent and to increase corporate operating profit to a sustainable 8 per cent.
Currently, Nissan cars are manufactured at its joint venture plant Renault Nissan Automotive India Pvt Ltd (RNAIPL) near Chennai. The plant has a total capacity of 400,000 units on three-shift basis and caters to the needs of Nissan and Renault for the domestic and export markets. Currently the company exports around 100,000 vehicles from the Oragadam plant to over 80 countries. To cater to the demand of so many new models, Nissan is also looking at expanding its manufacturing facility. Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nissan Motor India, Takayushi Ishida, said, “The issue of capacity expansion is under study at the group’s headquarters in Japan, which included expanding the existing facility by setting up a new plant in the existing facility or outside Tamil Nadu. We sold around 33,000 units in the domestic market in 2011-12 and expecting the domestic sales to be around 50,000 units in the current fiscal. Since India’s car market did not grow for the first time in eight years in 2012 as customers conserved cash than spend money in a bad economy that had high interest rates.”
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