Japanese auto major Nissan will drive in its second model from the Datsun portfolio, a multi- purpose vehicle GO+, in the first part of next year in India as part of its plans to enhance its presence here. The company is looking to increase sales of both Nissan and Datsun branded vehicles in India to meet its target of capturing 8 per cent market share in the country, although the timeline has been moved due to the slowdown witnessed in the automobile market in the past couple of years.
"The Datsun GO+ will be launched in the first part of next year," Nissan India operations President Guillaume Sicard told PTI without sharing details. Sicard, who assumed the role last week, said the idea was to build up the presence of the Datsun brand in India.
In March this year, the Datsun brand made a global comeback with Nissan launching its entry level car 'Datsun Go' priced between Rs 3.12 lakh and Rs 3.70 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) in India.
"The Datsun (hatchback) has received positive response. The product is recognised as a quality product and its delivery is up to our expectations," he said.
The GO+ is a seven seater multi-purpose vehicle and is among the three models under the Datsun brand that Nissan has announced that it would launch by FY16. It is expected to compete with the likes of Maruti Suzuki Ertiga, Honda Mobilio and General Motors' Enjoy.
On Nissan's ambitions in India, Sicard said, "We want to increase the sales of our two brands - Nissan and Datsun. Today we are at full speed, we want to continue to grow further."
In the April-September period of the current fiscal, Nissan has registered sales of 25,741 units, as against 12,515 units in the same period last fiscal, up 105.68 per cent.
Sicard said the aim would be to meet the target of capturing 8 per cent market share in India as part of global aim of the company to have similar market share 2016-17 earlier. However, due to a global slowdown in the automobile market in the company has stated that reaching the target could be delayed.
The Indian passenger vehicle market stood at 2.5 million units last year and Nissan had 1.3 per cent market share. Sicard said the production capacity at the Chennai plant of the Renault-Nissan alliance has been expanded to up to 4.8 lakh units annually from 4 lakh earlier, which could meet requirements for the next two years.
