The Financial Times

Nissan set to drive into India

05 June, 2006

Nissan Motor, Japan's second-biggest carmaker said it was aiming to gain a foothold in the lucrative and rapidly expanding Indian market by sharing manufacturing with Suzuki. The move marks Nissan's first foray into a country which Japanese carmakers have been wary of entering historically.

"This is our entry project into India," said Toshiyuki Shiga, Nissan's chief operating officer. Suzuki, which has a tie-up with Maruti, the leading Indian carmaker, is the biggest foreign carmaker in India, with 50 per cent of the passenger vehicle market. Hyundai is ranked second.

"The big Japanese carmakers have lagged behind in tapping the Indian market, particularly the market for small cars," said Hirofumi Yokoi, manager at CSM Worldwide, the motor consultancy. "They've been cautious due to logistic and infrastructural issues, but now is the time to market vehicles in India."

Nissan, in which Renault of France has a 44 per cent stake, said it would start to make cars with Suzuki by sharing respective factories, beginning with Suzuki's plant in India. Neither company would say when it would launch the Indian project or what types of cars Nissan would sell there.

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