Nissan India has revealed its own version of the Dacia and Renault Duster SUV. The new Terrano will be made alongside the Renault Duster at the Alliance’s plant on the outskirts of the southern port city of Chennai.
“Terrano marks our entry into the compact SUV segment, which is one of the fastest-growing segments in the Indian market today,” said Kenichiro Yomura, president of Nissan’s India unit.
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The Duster has been the most successful vehicle for Renault in India with sales of about 60,000 units since its local introduction in July 2012. SUV sales in India surged 52% in the fiscal year ended 31 March to 553,660 units, compared with a 6.7% decline in the sales of cars to 1.9 million units. But a recent 3.0 percentage point increase in factory tax on SUVs to 30% has affected demand in the segment, the Wall Street Journal notes.
Nissan India sold 7,499 vehicles between April and July, a decline of 47% from a year earlier. It exported 28,232 vehicles, a 0.8% drop.
The Alliance’s Oragadam plant builds the Nissan Sunny, Evalia and March models, as well as the Stile, a version of the Evalia MPV for Ashok Leyland. Locally made Renault models are the Duster SUV, Koleos SUV and Fluence sedan, as well as the Nissan Sunny-based Scala sedan and Nissan March-based Pulse hatchback. Production of the Datsun Go, itself closely related to the March and Pulse, will be added from 2014.
Author: Glenn Brooks
