Launched late last year, Magnite has already become the best selling Nissan car in India
It would not be wrong to say that Magnite has turned around the tables for Nissan in India. There was a time, not many months ago, when rumours were rife that Nissan might exit India as they hardly had any sales. Magnite was the last hope, the make or break product.
10,000th Magnite
And judging by their recent sales, Magnite has indeed saved Nissan in India. From selling a few hundred cars in a month, Nissan now sales more than 4k cars a month – all thanks to Magnite.
Demand for the Magnite is such that the waiting period has crossed 10 months in some cases. With demand back, Nissan plant (RNAIPL) in Oragadam near Chennai, has roared back to life. It has just rolled out the 10,000th unit of Magnite. This is the same plant which produces Renault cars.
Commenting on this occasion, Mr. Biju Balendran, MD & CEO, RNAIPL said, “We are glad to roll-out 10,000th Nissan Magnite in less than 100 days. Thanks to excellent support from all the supplier partners that the plant has been able to stabilize 3-shift production to meet the overwhelming market demand. We are now working round-the-clock to deliver high-quality cars at the earliest to our discerning customers.”
March 2021 Sales
Nissan India has posted sales of 4,012 units in March 2021. This in comparison with March 2020, when they posted sales of 825 units, is a growth of 826%. Speaking about MoM growth, it has actually declined. In Feb 2021, sales of Nissan were at 4,244 units. This means MoM sales for Nissan India have declined by 5.47%.
Magnite vs Kiger
Nissan Magnite was launched in India on 2nd December 2020 while the Renault Kiger is a more recent entrant into the sub 4 meter SUV space. Both are positioned on the Renault-Nissan CMF-A+ platform and even share the same engine lineup while pricing is more or less similar.
The Nissan Magnite, offered in 5 trims of XE, XL, XV, XV Premium, XV Premium (O), is priced in a range of Rs.5.49 – 9.59 lakhs. The new Kiger, is presented in RXE, RXL, RXT and RXZ, carries a price tag ranging from Rs. 5.45 – 9.55 lakhs. These prices are ex-sh and are for March 2021. Prices have increased for April 2021.
Renault Kiger and the Nissan Magnite share the same petrol engine lineup. The 1.0 liter, naturally aspirated, 3 cylinder engine makes 72 hp power and 95 Nm torque while the 1.0 liter, inline 3 cyl, turbo offers 100 hp power and 160 Nm torque. Transmission options are also similar with 5 speed as standard while the turbo engine gets a CVT option. The Kiger petrol engine also gets mated to a 5 speed AMT.
