Nissan India to explore hybrid, CNG cars besides EV

While Nissan plans to launch its first battery-electric vehicle in India by 2026, the Japanese automaker is also exploring options to bring its hybrid and compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered cars into the country.

“We are exploring all powertrains for India – EV (electric vehicles), hybrid, CNG. We have all these technologies available,” says Frank Torres, president, Nissan India.

“By 2026, demand for EVs will start to grow,” Torres says, adding that the upcoming EV will be “affordable”.

Nissan’s market share in India is around 1% currently. The carmaker is looking to grow this to 3% or 1 lakh units annually by 2026. It also plans to double its exports to 1 lakh units by that time.

Nissan currently sells only 2 models in India – Maginte and X-Trail. While Magnite is produced locally, X-Trail comes as a completely built-up unit. The company plans to expand its portfolio to 5 cars within 30 months.

Nissan launched the new Magnite at a starting price of ₹5.99 lakh (ex-showroom) on Friday.

“We took a little bit of time to decide what we need to do in India to ensure we are sustainable. Our strategy will focus on SUVs. Now we have a clear roadmap. We aim to do three times the volumes we are doing today,” says Torres.

On the transition to EVs, Torres believes that EV penetration will grow in the coming years. “Our experience in Europe is that to grow from 0-25% EV penetration, it took more than 15 years. We are sure that India will be faster,” he explains.

The government needs to play an important role in building charging infrastructure, Torres says.

OEMs will need to introduce EVs to meet CAFE regulations, he adds.

Nissan is also studying new battery technologies to bring price parity between EVs and ICE, says Torres.

The carmaker is betting big on SUVs and has no plans to introduce sedans and hatchbacks in the Indian market. “We believe that in 2030, the Indian SUV market will be 60-70%,” says Torres.

On the slowdown in passenger vehicle sales, Saurabh Vatsa, managing director, Nissan India, says the last three months have seen a slight decline over the last year. There has been some cool off in demand but it is not totally off the charts, says Vatsa.

Nissan and French carmaker Renault had earlier announced their plans to invest $600 million in India to build new cars. The alliance has invested $1.8 billion in India so far. It also has an R&D centre in the country with around 9,000 engineers.