3:50 pm
Jack
MUMBAI -- The India unit of Nissan Motor Co. Tuesday said it is aiming to sell more than 40,000 vehicles in the current financial year through March, helped by the introduction of the new Sunny sedan.
The company will sell the 1.5-liter gasoline engine Sunny at 578,000 rupees ($12,272) for the base model at showrooms in New Delhi. The top-end model will cost 768,000 rupees.
Kiminobu Tokuyama, managing director and chief executive for Nissan Motor India Pvt. Ltd., declined to give any sales target for the Sunny.
The Sunny is the second car to be manufactured at the factory of Nissan Motor India near the southern port city of Chennai. The factory is owned jointly with Renault S.A.
Nissan already makes the Micra small car at the same factory for the local and overseas markets. Micra is the first of five models the auto maker plans to manufacture in India.
Nissan plans to sell nine models in India by 2012, four of which will be imported.
The auto maker said it will source more than 85% of the parts for the Sunny from vendors in India, including 40% from suppliers based in Chennai.
Nissan currently imports and sells the X-Trail sport-utility vehicle, the premium Teana sedan and the 370Z sports car in India.
Bookings for the Sunny will start Wednesday at 45 dealerships across India, with deliveries commencing Oct. 3.
Tokuyama said Nissan Motor India plans to export the Sunny to countries in the Middle East and Africa. He didn't give a timeframe for starting exports.
Corrections & Amplifications
The India unit of Nissan Motor is aiming to sell more than 40,000 vehicles in the current financial year through March. An earlier version of this story wrongly stated this figure as the sales target for their Sunny sedan only. The company originally provided the incorrect figure.
