Nissan Micra’s Indian chapter has begun with a bang as the company has managed to sell 928 units of the newly lunched hatchback in less than a month's time. The baby Nissan was launched nationwide on July 14, 2010 and since then the company has found 928 takers in the month of July alone. The company's overall sales figures for the month of July stands at 1005 units, which also includes 27 units of the Teana and 50 units of the X-trail.
The Nissan Micra, which was opened for bookings prior to its launch, has till date received more than 3000 bookings. The company is planning to roll out 80,000 units of Micra this fiscal which will be both for export and domestic markets.
Kiminobu Tokuyama, MD & CEO, Nissan India, said, “We are happy and delighted at the initial response the Micra has received from the Indian customers. We look forward to an exciting journey as more and more customers benefit from the ownership experience of our product and services.”
For Nissan, the market response to the Micra has been positive and it now expects the number to increase in the coming months with the ramp-up of its dealership network. Nissan currently has a network of 20 operational dealers across the country.
The Micra is based on Nissan’s new V (‘Versatility’) platform, which will also be used as the basis of some more future models that are in the pipeline. Fuel Efficiency and low weight are among the strengths of the V-platform. The key is an all new light weight and fuel efficient three cylinder 1.2-litre engine which is tuned for driveability and low end torque to suit the Micra’s urban focus.
The Micra is available in three variants, XE, XL and XV. The basic variant, the XE gets air conditioner, electronic power steering, tilt adjustable steering, a drive computer, engine immoblizer, driver airbag and black interiors. The XL variant in addition to XE features gets full wheel covers, rear wiper, tachometer, rear parcel tray, integrated audio system with 4 speaker aux-in port, front and rear power windows, central locking and remote keyless entry. The top variant, the XV, comes packed with features like electric adjustable and foldable ORVMs, automatic climate control, intelligent key with push button ignition, front passenger airbag, ABS, EBD, front for lamps and security alarm.
Nissan is currently expanding its dealership network in the country in a phased manner. It has 20 dealerships at present which the company hopes to increase it to 36 dealers by December 2010 and touch the 100 dealership mark by 2013.
Rivan RS 
Viraaj Bhatnagar
Uday Singh
Suraj Viswanathan
