Nissan to increase component sourcing from India

Nissan will source components worth $40 million (Rs 188 crore) a year from India by 2012. For the current year, the company will source components worth $10 million this year, and will increase it to $20 million in 2011, said Mr Kiminobu Tokuyama, Managing Director and CEO, Nissan Motor India. The company plans to source side airbags, brake pedals and oil pumps from India. He also said that Nissan would source 35,000 units of A-Star from Maruti Suzuki this year. Nissan sells it under the brand ‘Pixo' in Europe. Chennai plant Mr Tokuyama said that the company would produce 80,000 vehicles at its Chennai plant this fiscal, which is meant for Indian as well as overseas markets. He indicated that exports may be larger than domestic sales He said that the company set a target of 1.1 lakh unit exports for the next fiscal which would be upgraded to 1.8 lakh in two years. Mr Tokuyama was speaking on the sidelines of an event in Mumbai to announce actor Ranbir Kapoor as Nissan Motor India's brand ambassador. Nissan Motor India is set to launch its first locally-made car Micra hatchback within a month. Mr Abhijeet Pandit, Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, Hover Automotive India, said that the delivery of Micra would start from mid-July. Hover Automotive takes care of sales and marketing operations of Nissan in India. Since it opened on May 25, the company received 400 bookings for the Micra, he said. The Micra will be available in 20 dealer outlets from July. The company plans to increase the number of dealerships to 100 for the current year. Source : indiacar.com Source : Business Line (Online Edition) (6/8/2010)