Nissan Beats VW, Ford, MG In Jan 2021 Sales, Thanks To Magnite

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The Nissan Magnite crossed 33,000 bookings in just a month of its launch and its good reception amongst customers can be seen on the sales charts

The BSVI emission regulations came into effect on April 1, 2020 and Nissan Motor India found itself at a major disadvantage as it had a single product upgraded to meet the more stringent standards, the Kicks. Thus, Nissan’s next launch was eagerly awaited since the middle of last year as it could act as a make or break product.

The Japanese manufacturer stepped up the game and introduced the Magnite in the final month of the last Calendar Year. As expected, the compact SUV would be aggressively positioned to rival the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Kia Sonet, Hyundai Venue, Tata Nexon, Mahindra XUV300, Ford EcoSport and Honda WR-V.

With an introductory starting price of just Rs. 4.99 lakh (ex-showroom), Nissan certainly dug deep into the segment as it was cheaper than the next most affordable base Kia Sonet by close to Rs. 2 lakh. Despite being the most affordable SUV in the sub-four-metre space, the Magnite doesn’t have any glaring compromises as it has a very good build quality proven by the four-star safety rating in the ASEAN NCAP crash tests.

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Moreover, it is underpinned by the CMF-A+ platform that will also spawn the upcoming Renault Kiger as heavy local content has helped in undercutting the rivals effectively. With bookings increasing rapidly, Nissan has ramped up the production to meet the demands as the reservations went past the 33,000 mark within just four weeks of its market launch and its impact could be seen clearly in the sales charts for the month of January 2021.

The brand sold a total of 4,527 units as it moved up the ladder and finished in ninth position ahead of its usual penultimate place in the table ahead of FCA. In doing so, Nissan managed to outsell Ford, Morris Garages, Volkswagen, Skoda and Fiat. In December 2020, Nissan posted just 599 units and in comparison, the Month-on-Month volume growth stood at a massive 655 per cent.

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It will be interesting to see if the Nissan Magnite could keep the momentum going in the due course of the year, as the Renault Kiger will be introduced in the market in March 2021 as a direct rival.