Indian Autos blog

Nissan has introduced a special edition Micra in France named after the famous fashion designer Josiane Maryse Pividal. Nissan claims that the inspiration of this special edition lies in an interesting quote from the designer –

“I dreamed of a carriage for the city, a real little boudoir where women feel totally comfortable to walk in an urban environment, without constraint, seamlessly, without giving up style and femininity.

In the Dutch market, you can now buy the Nissan Micra SR which features SR striping, SR logos around the car and butch-looking 15-inch black alloy wheels. Interiors don’t feature new parts but they are spruced up by the black and gray upholstery with red stitching, and black leather steering wheel with red stitching.

The black-red duo spreads to other parts of the cabin such as the gear knob wrap and floor mats. The pedals have an alluminium effect, mimicking the controls of a race car.

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IAB has learned that Nissan is making excellent progress on a new small car using the Micra’s V-Platform. Codenamed K2, the new Nissan model is aimed squarely at the Maruti Wagon R and Hyundai i10, a segment below the Micra’s, IAB can reveal.

Nissan is said to be discussing a mid-2013 launch for the toddler soon after the Evalia reaches a good position. It is a crucial model for Nissan to expand its presence in India as the Micra’s price prevents it from taking the fight to Maruti and Hyundai in the lower segments.

Nissan’s sole major launch in 2012 is the Evalia. It is a year of consolidation and the beefing-up of dealer network to prepare a launch pad for the inexpensive model’s entry.

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Nissan has come out with an interesting variant of the Micra (locally called March) hatch in Brazil sporting a 1.6-liter engine that fires using petrol and ethanol. The March variant is equipped with a 16-valve flex-fuel engine that develops 111PS/151 Nm. Its top speed stands at a lofty 191 kph.

Nissan may not introduce a sporty version of the Micra for the Indian customer as the Renault Pulse looks very close to one. Nissan recently updated the car with a powerful horn, rear head rests and pure drive badges. Skyrocketing petrol prices thwarted the appeal of the fuel-sipping 1.2 petrol, and we’ll be surprised if the Japanese decision makers consider the more powerful 1.5 petrol from the Sunny.

There’s a new twist to the sub-Micra Nissan car project, or projects to be precise. Sources told IndianAutosBlog.com that Nissan is evaluating multiple small cars under the Micra.

Ideally there can be two products – an alternative to the Alto and another alternative to the i10.

Recently we asked a senior project member of Nissan’s passenger car division what is the ideal strategy to make low cost products for the Indian market. The Ford Figo for example is a reskinned Mk5 Fiesta with a powertrain matched to our market’s preference that’s worked wonders for Ford India. Is mimicking that strategy the sensible step?

Here’s his reply -

Maybe one of the ideas is how we can utilize the V-Platform. In the case of competitor brands, their volume is much bigger than Nissan’s.

He then concluded saying -

For the V-Platform this is just the beginning.

Nissan is working on a MPV model on the V-Platform that replaces Note in other parts of the world. India is not on the list of destinations. Instead we will get the NV200 MPV that was spotted testing by our readers Shreyas and Reji recently.

Could Nissan look at remoulding the V-Platform to make a car shorter than the Micra? Will they borrow the Micra’s engine and gearbox? Is there a smaller diesel in the works?

We’ll track this development to find out. Stay tuned to IndianAutosBlog.com!

Readers Sree Ganesh and Thangavel P caught the Nissan Sunny/V-Platform sedan/Global sedan on test in Chennai city traffic. Sree who is always on the lookout for new cars wrote us an email with all possible details of the catch -

Car Spotted: Nissan Sunny (logos and lights taped with black duct tape)

Number of cars: 2

1st car – Red / Maroon : This is the base model with no alloy wheels, sporting black door handles.

2nd car – White : This would be the top-end variant with alloy wheels and body colored handles. This was the lead car. In my picture you will be able to see the red car with a very vaguely visible white car in front. I saw beige interiors on this variant.

What we deduce – Top-end variant will have alloy wheels and beige interiors.

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Renault’s V-Platform hatchback seen here is waiting under a car cover to protect it not only from dust, but also prying eyes until its official unveiling at the Auto Expo next year. Higher officials at Renault said the product will be positioned in the B+ segment meaning this will mess with the Hyundai i20, Maruti Swift, Honda Brio and Indica Vista.

The car took shape at Renault’s design center in Mumbai. It is a “car by India for India” stationed on the V-Platform that the Micra sits on. The 1.5-liter diesel engine producing around 70bhp will be installed on what some say is a grown up Wagon R.

Renault might not want to lend the car smooth surfaces and circular design nuggets found on the Micra. It might choose an interplay of a tall boy and a crossover’s styling bits for the 5 lakh rupee hatch.

At the press conference in New Delhi last week where this image was shown to us, Renault wasn’t willing to share any details on the petrol engine but unless you are stretching your imagination, the answer is there to see – the 1.2L 3cyl petrol mill from the Micra is the candidate in question.

The Nissan Micra is a sales success for the Japanese company which was questioned for shifting the production site and making markedly different design changed during its introduction last year in March as the Nissan March in Thailand.

Nissan has been making the Micra/March ever since 1982 in convertible, sedan and hatchback forms. The latest model was introduced in India last year with a 3cyl petrol engine followed by the highly fuel efficient, no-turbo lag 1.5-liter diesel variant which we felt was the best city hatch in India for someone starting a family.

Nissan announced that by the end of May 2011, it had made 6 million units of the fourth generation Micra (codenamed K13) globally. The Micra is produced in India, Thailand, China and Mexico and sold in over 70 countries.

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