Nissan Kicks To Spearhead Indian Offensive

Nissan had officially announced its new strategy for the Indian market, which is likely to be put into action from 2019 onwards. According to the announcement, Nissan wants to position itself as a premium mainstream brand and intends to do that by introducing its global lineup of cars in India. The first product to be introduced as a part of the new strategy will be the Nissan Kicks SUV, one of the most awaited products from the carmaker yet. The compact SUV is set to make its debut by January 2019 and is likely to be priced between Rs 10-14 lakh.

Nissan has also stated that it intends to launch a product offensive for the Indian market, and plans to bring the best of its global lineup to India. However, the statement doesn’t mention anything on the models planned, although we do know that Nissan will be launching its global torchbearer electric EV, the Leaf, in India by April 2019.

The new announcement also states that the company will be building on its technological leadership in electrification and connected cars. So a hybrid power-centric strategy cannot be ruled out. Nissan also plans to achieve its 9 million cars per year goal by 2022 by developing cars on 4 common platforms that can be shared between body types. The carmaker also intends to develop the Datsun brand further by offering ‘high value to customers equipped with connected technology’. Combine this with the development of the design centre in Chennai and we can make a calculated guess that you can see a lot more facelifts and special editions from Datsun in the near future.

Other plans of the strategy include doubling its sales and service touchpoints to 540 in the next three years. In addition, the company is also looking at digitization and e-commerce as a means to sell its products and services.

The strategy sounds promising but it is easy to be skeptical looking at Nissan’s current car lineup. In addition, the X-trail that we drove back in 2016 is still nowhere in sight yet, so the new product offensive and the promise to get its global lineup to India is bound to raise some eyebrows. The Nissan Kicks will be the company’s first new mass market launch in years. By the looks of it, it is an SUV worth waiting for. We are hopeful for the new direction Nissan intends to take. Who knows, we might even see the Nissan Patrol and Pathfinder find their paths to our market. Fingers crossed.