Nissan plans to get Infiniti in India

NEW DELHI: Nissan wants to expand its portfolio of luxury cars in India and plans to launch its premium car brand Infiniti. The entry of Infiniti will further drive up competition in the luxury car space with Toyota also drawing up plans to get the Lexus.
“The market for luxury in India is growing and the company is looking at ways to enter. Infiniti is our global brand and our intention is to cover the world, including India,” Andy Palmer, V-P at Nissan Motor Co, said.
Nissan wants to assemble the brand in India, rather than importing the cars as completely-built units (CBUs). “We will have to compete with manufacturers like Mercedes Benz and BMW, which are producing somewhat locally. If we get the cars as CBUs, they will become very expensive due to the high import duty.” However, Palmer added that the cars will not be launched immediately, as India changed its car assembly regulations, mandating higher local content.
Despite a slowdown in the economy, sales of luxury cars have been riding high in India on a lower base and increasing wealth. Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Jaguar Land Rover have been boosting their presence and production in the market, estimated at around 30,000 units annually.
Palmer said Infiniti is on a growth trajectory in markets where it currently sells. “We are busy with Infiniti. We currently sell around 1,50,000 units worldwide and plan to grow this to 5,00,000 units. We are launching the brand in many different countries, though we are yet to find a solution for India.” Toyota has already decided to launch the Lexus in India and is now working out launch details and the relevant models that it will launch.
Palmer said the company is keen to increase its visibility and market share. “This is an extremely important market for us. Our expectation, as with any other market, is that it will be 8% market share for us in the mid-term which runs through to 2016,” he said. The company produces cars at a factory near Chennai, where alliance partner Renault also makes its models. Its product portfolio includes the Micra mini car, that is also a major export model, apart from the Sunny sedan.