Wednesday 17 April 2013

Nissan sets wheels in motion to give India sales a boost

It looks like the tough times are not yet over for Nissan in India. After rejigging its top management a year ago, the Japanese automaker has yet again effected top management changes with appointments of new heads for the Indian operations and sales and marketing functions. The company has also come out with the lowest repayment rates for new buyers of its cars in a bid to arrest fall falling sales.

Nissan’s “lower than the lowest” equated monthly installment (EMI) scheme, valid till April 30, will seek to offer up to 40 per cent lower monthly EMI. Thus, EMI on the hatchback Micra (petrol & diesel) and Sunny Diesel is Rs 8,999 on a three-year loan, which is reported to be lower than the EMI of any other vehicle.

The customer has an option to choose down payment of 34 per cent on the on-road price or exchange their old car and get an additional exchange bonus of up to Rs 50,000. Customers may pay lower EMI for a period of 35 months and the EMI for the last month (36th) will be a larger amount, which can be customised, said a company statement.

Nissan management has appointed Kenichiro Yomura, who was general manager — West Asia operations, as president of Nissan India operations and he also replaces Takayuki Ishida as managing director and CEO of Nissan Motor India. Ishida moved from Nissan, Japan to Chennai in March 2012 as part of management changes.

Yomura will concurrently hold the two positions and report to Toru Hasegawa, corporate vice-president for Africa, West Asia and India. Based in Chennai, he will hold responsibility for manufacturing, research & development and joint venture businesses in India.

Nissan has also roped in Ajay Raghuvanshi, former dealer development and rural sales head of Hyundai Motor India and has appointed him as vice-president (business management) to look after pricing, sales and marketing functions of Nissan in India.

The company said the management changes will accelerate strategic decision making and streamline operational efficiency to help achieve the company’s objective of securing 10 per cent market share by 2016 in the Indian car market.

Nissan has been battling with falling sales in the Indian market. The company is yet to create any major excitement in the Indian market though it serves several global markets with made-in-India cars. While its mid-sized sedan created some initial waves, its compact car Micra failed to fetch good response in the domestic market. In FY13, the company sold only 36,955 units, up 11 per cent compared with the previous year. But it exported close to 99,000 units out of the car manufacturing unit Renault-Nissan near Chennai. Nissan is betting big on its upcoming mass-market Datsun brand of cars, slated to be launched some time next year.

Meanwhile its partner, Renault has over taken Nissan in total sales in India, driven by its successful SUV Duster. Renault’s total sales stood at 52,463 units in FY13. It exported only about 650 units.

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