Nissan seams to be bullish on Indian small car market. The company is all geared to have 2 compact cars below Micra to dethrone the market leader Maruti.
The first model (code:K2) will be built on two generation old Micra (Code: K11) but will have all new body shell and interiors. The company claims it will save Rs. 50,000 per car by using the old Micra platform, which it can pass on to the customers. It is likely to be priced at Rs. 3.5 lakh and rival against Wagon R and A Star. The car is scheduled for the December 2012 launch. Powering to car will be the same 1.2L petrol motor and a highly fuel efficient 1 liter petrol one might find its place on a later date. K2 will come with 2 wheelbases, the longer one for the export markets. A MPV based on K2 platform is also on the cards for Indonesian markets.
Nissan Micra K11
The second model (Code: I2) is a very ambitious project which Nissan is developing to compete against Alto. The car is developed at Defiance Testing and Engineering of US which was bought by Ashok Leyland, a Nissan partner. Ashok Leyland will take the lead of developing I2 and most of the engineering works will be done in India to keep the costs low. I2 is expected to be priced at Rs. 2.5 lakh to tap the market currently enjoyed by Alto. It is expected be launched by 2013.
