Wednesday, March 27, 2013

“We are Serious about The Cost-Centric Car Segment in India”

Buoyed by Micra’s market Performance, Nissan India is now Buckling up its seat belts to launch 8 new Models and is Confident that these Models will Set Industry Benchmarks in terms of Technology, Design and a Certain thing that The Indian Mass loves – value for Money. B&E’s Sanchit Verma talks to Kiminobu Tokuyama, CEO & MD, Nissan India to find out The Ground Reality.

After spending half a decade in the Indian market, Nissan Motor India Private Ltd. (NMIPL) finally entered into the mass market last year by launching Micra. But as the company says, it’s just the beginning. Aiming at a total of nine models by 2013, Kiminobu Tokuyama, explains how he is planning to boost the company’s presence in Indian auto market.

B&E: 2011 is Nissan’s sixth year in India. But it’s still to create a serious impact. How are you planning to move forward from here?
Kiminobu Tokuyama (KT): Although we entered India in 2005, it’s only in July last year that Nissan entered the mass market with Micra. Nevertheless, we have aggressive plans for the Indian market with an exciting line up of products. As planned, we will have a total of nine models by 2013. Once launched these vehicles will set industry benchmarks with respect to technology, design and value for money increasing Nissan’s brand visibility in India. At the same time, we also see India to be an important export hub for Nissan’s global market.

B&E: Your current plant at Oragadam has an installed capacity of about 200,000 units. But your capacity utilisation has been on the lower side. What are your expectations for the next fiscal?
KT: Our production plan for FY’11 is about 80,000 units. And we are planning to increase this capacity in the next financial year.

B&E: You still import models like 370Z, Xtrail and Teana. How has been the overall response for these luxury and sports cars in India? Any plans to start their production in India?
KT: Nissan India realises that there is tremendous potential for our existing CBU models like the Teana and X-Trail. We are studying all alternative options to make attractive propositions to the discerning Indian customers. About the luxury segment, yes, the response from our existing customers has been very good so far. As for the sports segment, the 370Z is an iconic sports car that embodies stunning design, class leading power and sheer performance. There is an excitement for 370Z in India. However, the sports car segment here is still at its nascent stage and one has to wait and watch for its market size to expand.

B&E: Entering into a small car segment, which is being ruled by Maruti and Hyundai in India is a big strategic shift that you have made. How are you planning to move ahead with this?
KT: The Indian automobile industry is known for its frugal engineering and the discerning Indian customer is known for “more value for money” attitude. Keeping both these key characteristics in mind, Nissan intends to offer products across various segments that signify and enhance these characteristics. We aim to build brand Nissan as one of the most formidable players in the Indian automobile industry. We are studying all possible opportunities and we will make our plans known at an appropriate time.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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