Nissan plans to bring Infiniti to India

Nissan is eyeing the fast-growing super-luxury segment and is planning to bring its popular Infiniti range to India. The Infiniti brand, famous for its luxury sedans, coupes and sports utility vehicles (SUVs), will be pitted against the DiamlerChrysler and BMW range in India, even as Chrysler, Lexus, Alfa Romeo and Maserati are also expected to hit the Indian market sometime next year.

Nissan Motor director (marketing & sales) Neeraj Garg told ET: "We are strongly considering the Infiniti range for the Indian market as there is immense potential for such luxury vehicles. Like all premium car makers we are also studying the growing market though we are yet to commission any market study to determine the right potential for such brand."

The company is looking at the wider aspect of the rising demand for luxury vehicles, which is the fastest-growing segment in India. According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers' (SIAM) the luxury segment posted the highest growth of 26% to 4,922 units in the April-November period from 3,922 units of last year.

The company is likely to consider its Infiniti G35 sedan series, 350 GT, which is available in both sedan and coupe forms internationally, and the Infiniti EX crossover SUV, which could be pitted against the BMW X3 and X5, Toyota Land Cruiser, Mercedes Benz M Class, Hyundai's Santa Fe and the Volvo XC 90 in the domestic market.

Nissan is already selling its SUV X-trail and the Tiena sedan in the over Rs 20-lakh segment and has plans to launch several new models in the coming years. While Nissan's chief executive officer Carlos Ghosn has already said in the past that the company's focus on India is based on more cars from Nissan's stable with a major thrust on luxury vehicles.

According to sources, Nissan is planning to launch these vehicles through the completely built route to test the Indian market before assembling any of these at its Chennai facility.

A consortium of Nissan, Renault and utility vehicle major Mahindra & Mahindra is setting up a 4 lakh units per annum facility in Chennai with an initial investment of Rs 4,000 crore to manufacture sedans, SUVs, coupes, utility vehicles and other models.