[humyum]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Its not that they do not have good cars already. The Sunny is a great car for an average Indian family. I have heard only good things about the Micra too till now. They also had a very competitive car in form of the Micra Active that was priced very well. The Evalia is still an unknown car to 99.99% of the population and they need to get out and market it specially with the Lodgy coming up. But somehow they send out the wrong signals all the time with zero marketing and product support. On top of that the servicing is horrible and hence even the current customer is not happy. So what are they really doing?

Like it or hate it but there initial Sunny Ad campaign was very catchy. Almost every person I come across remembers the "Caaaarr" tagline and is amazed with all that space inside the cabin. Nissan really needs a wake up call. Once the brand becomes diluted then there is no coming back. For example what has happened slightly with GM India too.

I agree, but u know they have done nothing to the Sunny in all these years. Minor face lifts here and there, but that's all. Nissan is no Maruti that they can afford to live like that. Look at Hyundai, the effort with the Verna, I 20, I 10 is so visible. They have gone all lengths to capture the market, with Nissan, they are looking to get it for free it seems.

You know when we look at the Micra, it offers nothing that any other car does not offer, except the Automatic version of course. Why would I not chose a more well known brand if I am getting 'peace of mind along with it'?
Their product line up is plain boring.

The Duster ate the Terrano because of the first movers advantage, now they don't even want to differentiate the product other than some nick and knack changes here and there in the outer and inner look.

I agree with the zero marketing and product support. Don't know why this 'chalta hai attitude' ?

I had once told a friend 'What do you think about the Terrano'?

He was like 'Ah the Duster look alike, Nahi baba, I ll buy the Duster only'.

[rajeshsundaram]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

I have heard only good things about the Micra too till now.

...

The Evalia is still an unknown car to 99.99% of the population and they need to get out and market it specially with the Lodgy coming up. But somehow they send out the wrong signals all the time with zero marketing and product support.

You are right sir.

Micra - Yes it is a good City car. Our family owns one. And the CVT beats the expectations on highways. With 5 members in, it crosses into tripe-digit speeds without sweat. It is not that successful because - the CVT's price is extremely high - close to i20 AT. So the pricing played a spoil sport.

Evalia - Oh my god. The moment I entered the cabin, I realized Evalia would fail miserably. And the ridiculous pricing ensured it failed in the market. Had Nissan made the Evalia as a Cargo van and sold it for 6L, they would have got decent numbers. One cannot fool people by converting a cargo van into a Premium UV.

[thoma]

See, another neutral review, this time from one of our mods.

Originally Posted by Vid6639;

After spending 3 days with the car, I realised that it's quite understated. My dad asked me how much was the car and when I told him it was for around 9 lakhs he was surprised.

IMO, their line up is still very good, it is just that they had spoiled their name by a poor relation with HAI earlier and then doing nothing much to change the perspective later. The perspective gets etched, unless you are a Nissan owner or know their cars up close. Here is where fresh additions to their line up may help; no, I do not recommend changing the current line up altogether.

[carmayogi]

The reality for both Renault and Nissan is that they need to sell their EU product line in India because nothing else will do. In order to take on the likes of the Swift & i20 for example, they need the Clio/Nissan version of Clio. You can't fight a market leader with an inferior product. The Duster/Terrano success is based on absolute absence of competition in the segment and nothing else.

It is time that car companies take us as serious customers. There's a reason we buy quality cars similar to those sold in EU countries like the Swift and i20 and also why we don't buy cars "made for India" or "made for China" like the Etios Liva and Chevrolet Sail/Spark/Whateveryoucallit.

And on the issue of the Liva. It's backed by the best aftersales in India, Toyota. Also by superb reliability reviews and loyal brand following. Yet it fails. That's a lesson for everyone.

[parryboy]

Yes Nissan do not showcase their products widely as the other competitors do but I would give Nissan a for their quality and services. I own a Nissan terrano for past year n half and have never had any complaints in regards to the vehicle. There are many people in this forum who are aghast on the After Sales Service which is offered for Nissan. Post Nissan has taken ownership to sale its own vehicles on their own the service levels have increased. I have bought my vehicle from Kamala Nissan. Their Workshop in Kurla has a very good service support. They deliver as promised to the owner.

[Games Goblin]

The problem with Nissan, which I feel, is that they still haven't got a hit product on their hands.

Their partners Renault are riding on the success of the duster (while Renault's other offerings aren't setting the sales charts on fire) - Duster's success offsets the average sales of the rest of the line up. Nissan does not have a car which can bring in the numbers for them - and rebadging Renault cars (Terrano, although I like it better than the Duster) won't help as they will have to price it higher than the Renault.

Hopefully the guys at Nissan India will find success sooner rather than later (maybe bring the Qashquai to India?)

[ratangera]

I sincerely believe in the very short term, only thing Nissan can do flood the markets with ads because as mentioned above they do not really have anything lined up in next 2 years or so.
For Lodgy, I am not very optimistic as Nissan unlike Duster is not the first mover and their brand recall does not help.
I hate it when Suzuki's 10L ertiga and 6L swift share a lot of visible interior bits, this happens in Micra and Sunnys case as well, but then they are not Suzuki yet.
As for badge engineering, I like many of my friends here believe should be done away with.