Japanese automobile company, Nissan launched its highly anticipated car of the year, Nissan Sunny in petrol variants on 20th September 2011. At the event, the company revealed its plan of launching the diesel version of Nissan Sunny sooner than expected. This decision was influenced by the increasing popularity of diesel run cars in India. Corporate Vice President of Nissan for Africa, Middle East and India, Gilles Normand stated at the event that “We have been talking to our engineers to see if we can pull forward the launch.”
He also added that Nissan Motor India Private Ltd. (NMIPL) is making all the necessary arrangements in order to launch the diesel variant in India by the end of this fiscal year. The early launch of Nissan Sunny diesel variant is triggered because of the deregulation of petrol cost. The ratio of petrol and diesel models in India is currently 20:80, which has changed drastically from 45:55.
This change in scenario is because of the raised prices of petrol by the various oil marketing companies to match up with the rising global prices. The increased crude oil prices have lead to the shift in consumer demand towards diesel run vehicles. The companies are therefore only reacting towards the changes in the demand of consumers.
Experts, however, are sceptical about the success of diesel variants of Nissan Sunny. Senior Director of Deloitte Touché Tohmatsu India Pvt. Ltd, Kumar Kandaswamy commented that the diesel run vehicles are not considered among the strengths of Japanese car companies like Nissan.
Many companies have already launched diesel variants of their well-established models in the recent months and many others are expected to follow this trend. Pricing of the diesel run models is competitively done, which has further increased competition in the market. The Nissan Sunny diesel variant is expected to be priced within the range of Rs. 7 lacs to Rs. 8 lacs.
Nissan Sunny diesel will be powered with a 1.5 litre K9K engine having 1500 cc displacement. The diesel engine claims to have a capacity of generating maximum power of 100 bhp and maximum torque of 200 Nm. This variant is expected to provide a better fuel economy in comparison to its petrol version. The car will have mileage within the range of 16 kmpl to 22 kmpl, which is higher than the petrol version. Nissan Sunny Diesel will share its engine dynamics with models like Mahindra Verito, Renault Fluence and Nissan Micra.
In terms of exterior design and in-cabin features, this variant will not have much variation. The interior will have all comfort features like air conditioning system with climate control, stereo system with 4 integrated speakers, power windows, remote controlled central locking and much more. Overall, the diesel variant is quite similar when compared in terms of physical attributes.
Currently, its petrol model has already grabbed consumer's attention and is expected to generate high sales volume. With the diesel variant launching soon, Nissan India expects even greater results from this premium class sedan.
