Nissan entered the Indian market way back in 2007 with the X-Trail SUV and Teana sedan and was perceived as a premium brand. The company then went on to launch mass market products like the Micra hatchback, Sunny sedan, Evalia MPV and Terrano compact SUV. While the Micra has been selling in poor numbers right from launch, the Sunny did manage good numbers in its initial phase before being overtaken by rivals. The Evalia is also a poor performer thanks to its van-like looks. To make a good comeback, Nissan decided to revive the Datsun brand in India by launching an entry-level hatchback, GO.
The Datsun GO was launched in India with very high optimism. Officials from Nissan were quite hopeful that this vehicle will help Nissan generate significant amount of sales and gain some market share. Even though the GO is a very capable product, it sells hardly 1500-2000 units a month. Its chief rival Maruti Alto 800 manages more than 20,000 units every month and the Hyundai Eon too is much ahead. Nissan had earlier appointed Hover Automotive for sales and distribution of its products and customers had a very bad experience. Even though Nissan terminated its contract with Hover, it will take them some time to mend people’s impression.
Nissan has launched three products in the last nine months – Sunny facelift, Terrano and GO. The Terrano does find some buyers and hence Nissan has a 5% share in the UV market. Apart from this, the GO+ MPV will be launched soon. The compact SUV segment is booming and with the right amount of marketing, Nissan might be able to capture a decent share in the market. Overall, the company’s performance has been very poor and sales are at an all-time low. The automaker was looking to sell 1 lakh units in the past fiscal and managed only about 38,000 units. It is high time Nissan considers a major brand makeover in India.
Nissan July 2014 Sales –
* Nissan Micra – 300 units (lowest till date)
* Nissan Sunny – 750 units
* Nissan Terrano – 1600 units
* Nissan Evalia – 50 units
* Datsun GO – 800 units (lowest till date)
