Nissan breaks away from India distributor HAI

We always knew that there were some issues between Nissan and their distributors in India; Hover Automotive India (HAI). But, even when this topic was broached in front of top officials of Nissan India at the Delhi Auto Expo, we were told that all was well and the relationship between both the companies was strong.

Today however, Nissan officially announced that its Indian subsidiary - Nissan Motor India Private Limited - will assume full responsibility for the sales, marketing and distribution of all Nissan-branded vehicles and parts in India with immediate effect.

Nissan said that the contract with Hover Automotive India - which was responsible for all the above departments - has been officially terminated and the road forward will be charted out and announced in due course.

Kenichiro Yomura, President, Nissan India Operations said, "Nissan is now at a point of maturity in India where the time is right to establish our own marketing and distribution networks. We remain committed to our customers and will continue to deliver high quality products and services."

The break away from the partnership, in such an urgency, also comes in time when the company plans to roll out the Datsun brand of cars on its own. Datsun cars will be sold through the Nissan dealerships in India and Nissan is banking on this to work. However, India has witnessed such a partnership before and shudder to think if Nissan-Datsun will go the Tata-Fiat way.

Nissan knows that it needs to be more aggressive in the sales, marketing and distribution arms. To add to that, they know what an important market India is for them. With a string of new launches this year, Nissan will look to up its sales figures in the coming year.