Saar: The Micra-maker plans to hire 1,500 employees in the coming years to strengthen its roots in the country.
Up until now, Nissan hasn’t had the best of times in India. But that hasn’t put the Japanese carmaker off by any means. The company has shared an overview of its strategy for India which will unfold in the next few years. The strategy includes the launch of new products (obviously) under both Nissan and Datsun brand names, expansion of dealership network, optimisation of manufacturing processes and strengthening the R&D roots with its alliance partners in the country.
In India, Nissan wants to establish itself as a premium mainstream brand and for that, it will tap onto its prowess in the SUV segment. The carmaker insists that it will bring the best of its worldwide line-up to India and that journey will begin with the Nissan Kicks. The said vehicle will slot above the Terrano in India and is expected to launch during the current fiscal year. Can we please get the Terra SUV as well? Nissan, are you listening? Anyway, the Micra-maker will also be leveraging its know-how in the fields of electrification and connected cars and bring those technologies into India.
The Datsun brand, on the other hand, will be focusing on offering products with the best bang for the buck. The products will also be equipped with Nissan’s own connected technologies. As of now, Datsun is readying to bring the mid-life updates for the GO and GO+ models, both of which went on sale in Indonesia a few months ago. To keep the Redi-Go model afresh, Datsun recently launched a limited-edition variant with prices starting at Rs 3.58 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).
In the next three years, Nissan plans to double its sales and service touchpoints and strengthen dealership network, which currently stands at 270. Apart from that, the company will be investing heavily in its R&D centre in Chennai to keep pace with the market leaders. The carmaker also plans to improve the ownership experience for its customers in India by expanding access to its products and services, through digitisation and eCommerce.
In June this year, the Yokohama-based company inked an MoU (memorandum of understanding) with the government of Kerala to establish its first global digital hub. That hub will be getting 500 employees in the current fiscal year. The idea is to focus on innovations in mobility to enhance Nissan’s products, not just in India but also for other markets around the globe. The product innovations will also see Nissan expand its manufacturing and RNTBCI (Renault Nissan Technology & Business Centre for India) and for that, the company will be onboarding an additional 1,000 engineers.
Nissan also wants to optimise its operations in the country, especially its manufacturing process. The basic idea is to reduce complexity in manufacturing processes through greater use of common platforms amongst the alliance partners. By 2022, the alliance is targeting to sell 9 million cars per year globally and all those vehicles will be based on four common platforms by the said year.
The strategy will also help Nissan and its alliance partners in India to increase its exports from India. Currently, the Renault and Nissan alliance are exporting to 106 countries worldwide. It is clear that Nissan is betting big on India and wants to establish itself as a force to be reckoned with. Expect Nissan to go SUV-frenzy in the next 2-3 years and give players like Toyota, Mahindra and Ford some gruelling competition.
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