 "Kenichiro Yomura")
Nissan India unveiled today a five-seater sports utility vehicle Terrano which would be launched in October or just before the festive season. The Terrano which has several similarities with its sibling Renault Duster (they share the platform and components) is the last of the products on a common platform.
This is the seventh product from Nissan and its first SUV in India. Kenichiro Yomura, president of Nissan India Operations spoke to Swaraj Baggonkar on the sidelines of the launch. Edited excerpts:
When are you launching the Terrano?
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How much time did it take to develop the Terrano?
Usually it takes more than two years to develop a model. The platform was (already) there we had to develop the product.
The Renault Duster is also below Rs 10 lakh, would you not end up competing with the Duster eventually?
Yes it will. If you are talking about competition then everybody is a competitor not only SUV but sedans too. In our policy, we have to look at each individual customer needs requirement and expectations and try to satisfy and meet those expectations and that is what I have asked the staff to work on not only the product but on service as well.
So this particular model Nissan Terrano is looking at the SUV segment but more premium side.
The Renault Pulse and Scala and the Nissan Micra and Sunny ended up eating into each others market share. Would it not happen with the Terrano as well?
Renault Nissan alliance was formed more than 12 years ago from the beginning we are determined to share the platform. With a common platform we can lower the cost of production and become able to offer the product at a competitive price. So it is a matter of the degree of differentiation.
Would Terrano be priced higher than the Duster (Rs 7.15 lakh, ex-showroom, Mumbai)?
Yes it will be higher than the Duster because it is positioned as a premium product. We need to work hard on the numbers. The SUV is an aspirational product for the younger and affluent customer. Terrano has a good chance in the segment as there are not too many products in that segment.
The new compact SUV segment is gaining ground, would Nissan look at that segment?
We think about all the opportunities and we develop any model that makes sense but currently our focus is the Terrano.
What is the sales target you have by the end of the year?
We talked about 1,00,000 sales at the beginning of the year that is not changed as of now but of course with the market changing we do not know. Exports would be another 1,00,000 units. It is a challenge for us.
