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Saturday, October 26, 2013

10 new Nissan models in India by 2016

CVT variants of the Micra, Sunny in the pipeline and a compact SUV too.

Japanese carmaker Nissan has revealed its future game plan for the Indian market. The company announced plans to launch around 10 new offerings here by 2016.

First up will be the Micra CVT which will come with the same petrol motor that powers the manual variant. The X-Tronic CVT gearbox will do duty instead of the five-speed manual transmission. The Micra CVT will compete with the likes of the Ritz automatic and Brio automatic.

Next in line will be a version of the Sunny equipped with the X-Tronic CVT gearbox. Expect Nissan to price the Sunny CVT below the badge-engineered Scala CVT. When launched, it is likely to compete with the likes of clutchless versions of the Vento, Rapid, Verna and the City.

The third offering from Nissan will be for the compact SUV segment. This will be Nissan’s spin on the Renault Duster. However, the new SUV (Codename: NH87) will be more than just a re-badged Duster and will have some significant sheet metal changes as well. As seen from the brand hierarchy, we can expect Nissan to price the NH87 below the Duster. It is expected to enter showrooms end of 2013.

Nissan will bring the low-cost Datsun Brand to India in 2014. Autocar India was the first to break the news about Datsun’s comeback in the June 2011 issue. For India, two Datsun hatchbacks are planned, both of which will slot below the Nissan Micra. The first model will be a Rs 4 lakh hatchback (code: K2) based on the two-generations old K11 Nissan Micra. Believed to incredibly spacious for its size, the K2 will feature an all-new ‘top hat’ and will come with a 1.0-litre petrol engine. A cheaper Rs 3 lakh model (code: I2) is also being developed to compete with the Maruti Alto.

Nissan is looking to achieve 10 percent growth by 2016 in India. To achieve this target, the company also plans to increase its on-ground presence to 300 dealers from the current 95 in the country.

Given that the current manufacturing facility of Renault Nissan Automotive India Pvt Ltd (RNAIPL) at Oragadam, Chennai, has an annual capacity of 400,000 cars and is shared by both Nissan Motor Company and Renault India, it is likely that the Japanese carmaker will either ramp up capacity at the existing facility or establish a new facility to meet its target by 2016.

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Sunday, October 6, 2013

Subaru mulling three row utility upscale versions of existing models

Subaru was one of few automakers whose sales actually picked up during the recent recession. But now that auto sales are back on track (and expected to hit pre-recession numbers this year), Subaru is trying to come up with new products to fill voids in its current lineup. Wards Auto had a chance to talk to Subarus director-product manager Ken Lin, who indicated that the automaker is planning to introduce new models this year that will help it attract new buyers without alienating current ones.

2014 Subaru Forester xt fd

The biggest void, of course, is a competitive three-row crossover, a role the Tribeca does not fill in one a very popular segment. Lin said that while theres no current plan to kill off the Tribeca, Subaru is looking at creating a larger three-row CUV with more interior space. In addition to to something big, Subaru is getting ready to bring its customers more luxury with new touring models, but does not anticipate going toe-to-toe with Mercedes-Benz or BMW.

By the end of this year, Subaru will be introducing a new hybrid model, although we dont yet know on which model it will be based. What we do seem to know is that the car will get its power from a nickel metal hydride battery rather than a more modern lithium-ion pack for the sake of simplicity. Finally, Lin mentioned a new product being brought into the sports car segment, but while the article takes this as a hint toward a possible BRZ Turbo, it could also be a reference to the next generation of the WRX and WRX STI.

Articlea Source : Autoblog