Nissan Motors, the leading car maker based in the Japanese market, is all set to start the production of diesel engines in the Indian market from the first quarter of next year. The establishment of a new diesel engine plant in India will not only help the company in capitalizing on rising demand for diesel run cars, but will also help it to reduce the overall cost of its car manufacturing by increasing the local content in its cars.
Speaking to the reporters in Chennai on Thursday, Nissan Motors India Pvt. Ltd. Chief Finance Officer, Mr. Sunil Rakhi said, "We plan to make diesel engines at our plant here so that the level of localization of all our vehicles goes up to 80 percent. The investment in the diesel plant will be part of our overall investment of around Rs.4,500 crore."
At present, Nissan has a mega car manufacturing plant at Oragadam near Chennai, which was established with its global alliance partner, Renault. The Oragadam plant of the company has a capacity of manufacturing 2,00,000 cars per annum. Moreover, the firm already has an engine manufacturing plant in India, where it has been producing engines from the month of May 2010. The company currently produces two types of petrol engines at this plant including a 1.2 litre and a 1.5 litre engine.
The company is planning to launch a diesel version of its recently launched Sunny sedan by early 2012. Moreover, it plans to enhance the number of its dealerships to 70 dealers by the end of this fiscal from the current number of 44 dealers.
