Nissan Introduces Sunny Sedan in India

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.

Nissan Motor Company's Gilles Normand posed with the Nissan Sunny car during its launch in Mumbai, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011.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.

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.

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.