Overview
Right from 2005, Nissan was doing great in its automotive job, but after 2011 when Renault came in India Nissan’s sale got depreciated by a significant amount. So what has happened with Nissan which had a great starting in India but now is struggling to sell its vehicles? Well, we’ll discuss all of it in this next blog of Let’s Talk Series.
On the Point
History
Initially, Nissan launched its first vehicle in India which is a 4×4 SUV; named Nissan Trail. The vehicle was sold as a CBU (Complete Built Up) vehicle. Trail performed well and moreover, had created its name as a most capable vehicle which can run in deserts as well. From then Nissan never looked back and produced many 4×4 transport trucks as well.
In 2011 when Renault came in India with its first vehicle as Duster in Indian market it had also got huge success. But when the Renault duster was in great hype at that time Nissan launched its Terrano which had an exactly same design as Duster. This blunder had resulted in the Nissan’s SUV; Terrano failure.
By the way Renault Duster will be discontinued from December, 2021, to know about its facelift version click on the link provided below:
After that Nissan introduced its second car in India which is midrange hatchback: Nissan Micra. Also, after its launch Renault also launched its second vehicle which is Renault Pulse which also had the exactly same design as that of Micra. Well, no one was the winner this time as both the hatchbacks got failed.
This series in which both the companies copied same design and launched their vehicles soon after the other one got continued. Renault Scala and Nissan Sunny was also one of the parts of this series.
Alliance with Renault
However all this, I mean this series was happening due to the Renault-Nissan alliance which was established in 1999, when the French car maker overtaken the Japanese car manufacturer. This thing also enabled the partnership of both the companies in setting up the production plant in India.
After that suddenly a turn came up when Renault launched its Kwid which consist of a 799cc engine unit. That car again made Renault to grow its reputation in Indian market over Nissan. Seeing this Nissan also introduced its sub brand Datsun which aimed to produce only small and low cost vehicles. The first vehicles launched under Datsun branding was the Go and Go+. However, due to their low quality, which ultimately resulted in safety issues of the two; both the cars got failed. Soon after which Datsun launched its Kwid competitor which was Datsun RediGo. This car somehow made its sale in the Indian market as compared to other Datsun cars but when compared to Renault Kwid it was significantly a low packaged deal.
Recently, a new facelift version of Datsun RediGo has been launched to know more about it click on the link below:
And even now the cars launched by Nissan follows the car launched by Renault for example: few years back when Renault Captur launched after few days of which Nissan Kicks also got launched but again there was no winner in this too. Again both of the cars get failed in the Indian market. But still both the cars feature almost the same technology, engine and somehow the design too.
So how now Nissan can fix this?
Well in my opinion there are certain ways through which Nissan can again come back in the Indian automotive market; the points are listed as under:
- Better deal: One of the aspects in which Nissan is lagging right now is the deal which the company is providing to the Indian customers. Talking about the recently launched Nissan Magnite which can be made a better deal by adding a few more features such as sunroof etc. that are available with its competitor. This thing will boost Nissan vehicles a lot.
- Quality: The same recently launched Nissan Magnite which is not only lagging in features but also with the quality its providing. Magnite’s engine gets louder and vocal at higher speeds. Moreover, vibrations can be felt at the steering wheels giving a proof of lack of insulation. Also, the steering wheel isn’t responsive as such and failed to give feel and feedback to the driver.
- Pricing: In my opinion Nissan brand is known not only by its vehicle but also by the name it had earned with its quality and the power of engine it offers. So, just to decrease thousand’s Nissan should not drop its quality and the performance of its engine. Moreover, I think people are ready to pay more for the Nissan branding if they improve their quality and engine performance again.
Conclusion
Atlast, I would say to come back and hold that big an respected name again Nissan needs to know what Indian customers wants from it. They should plan more deeply as what vehicles are more suitable for Indian customers and at what pricing they should launch them to provide maximum quality.
Comment me what do you think about Nissan as quality engine provider.
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Meanwhile me: Going to take a nap!
Credits: All the images have been taken from official Nissan and Renault’s website.
Sacred 