Nissan eyes small car market

New Delhi: Japan's Nissan Motor is said to be eyeing India's growing small and compact car market. The company plans to manufacture compact cars from its Chennai facility, currently being set up under a three-way joint venture (JV) with Renault and Mahindra & Mahindra.

Nissan's presence in India at the moment is limited to sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and luxury sedans. Recently Nissan introduced its luxury sedan Teana priced at Rs20.47 lakh ex-showroom Delhi, Chennai, Banglore and Hyderabad, and slightly higher at Rs 20.67 lakh in Mumbai.

Nissan's luxury sedan Teana is targeted at the growing high-end car market in the country.
The company's Chennai plant will go onstream in two years. In this period the company will look at enhancing its portfolio of imported cars through the completely built-up unit route.

The luxury sedan Teana would be fully imported from Nissan's Kyushu plant in Japan, and is powered by a 2.3 litre petrol engine. This is the company's second offering for the Indian market after its sports utility vehicle 'X-trail'.

Nissan Teana will compete against the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry which are priced similarly.