Nissan plans to produce diesel engines in India

Sunil Rekhi, chief financial officer of Nissan India, said recently that Nissan intends to produce diesel engines in India in the next few years, increasing the localized productivity of Nissan cars in India to 80%.

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. has established a joint venture with Renault in Oragadam, India, to build an engine production plant that will start producing gasoline engines in May 2010. Currently, Nissan Sunny and Micra produce 1.2-liter and 1.5-liter engines, with an annual output of 200,000.

Rekhi said Nissan will expand its number of Indian dealerships from the current 44 to 70 by the end of the fiscal year. The Nissan Sunny diesel engine version will be launched at the beginning of next year.

To attract consumers, Nissan also formed alliances with the National Bank of India to provide lower loan interest rates for those who are willing to purchase Nissan models.