Nissan Motors, founded in 1914 by Yoshisuke Aikawa, Rokuro Aoyama, Kenjiro Den and Meitaro Takeuchi, struggled initially due to a limited market. The company in the 1930s shifted its gears into war production making military trucks, engines for fighter planes and torpedo boats under the name DAT Motors. The company’s name was changed to Nissan Motor Co in 1934 giving its initial product – the small Datsun car. Nissan Motors has now grown to a global power with its production sites in 16 countries and offering products and services in over 190 countries. Nissan is now one of the top 6 largest car manufacturing companies in the world.

Nissan Motors India Pvt Ltd which is a subsidiary of the mother company, Nissan Motor Limited Japan was incorporated in 2005. Nissan merged with Renault as its global alliance partner and both the companies signed a MoU with the government of Tamil Nadu to set up a one of a kind manufacturing plant near Chennai investing Rs 4500 crores.

Talking to them about their operations that happened a little later when compared to other car manufacturers, the company explains the reason rather positively. The Indian economy is growing at a higher pace and the growth has opened up new opportunities for global automotive companies. India being a strategically 3important market for Nissan, they have been watching the Indian automobile market for a while and have been doing business here through selling CBU cars from 2005-06. In line with their steady establishment of business, they started selling locally produced cars from August 2010.

In a candid chat with Nissan India, the company’s top management talks about its plans for India.

Are there new technologies that have been made exclusively for India considering the roads and safety here?
Nissan is known for its world-class technologies. Our constant endeavor is to provide products and services that meet the needs of the discerning customers. Micra was the first to introduce innovative ‘push button start’ in hatch back in India. We have also introduced in Micra and Sunny features generally found in high-end sedans such as iKey, Push Button Start, Fine Vision Meters, Auto A/C, Steering wheel controls etc. Nissan SUNNY have high-end safety features such as Electronic Brake-force Distribution and ABS systems enhanced braking performance and Airbags for safety and stress-free driving.