Why Nissan Dropped Plans For Maruti Suzuki Dzire Rival

While the SUV and the hatchback markets seem to rule the roost when it comes to new car sales in India, the sub 4-metre sedan segment has seen a little boost in the last few months with the likes of the updated Maruti Suzuki Dzire and Hyundai Xcent facelift (both of which were launched last year) and then more recently with the Honda Amaze. While the Amaze and the Dzire are selling well, the other cars in the segment - the Volkswagen Ameo and the Ford Aspire (which will receive a facelift soon) have struggled for sales in India. Nissan, one of the largest Japanese automakers in the world and part of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, the worlds largest automakers combined, did actually consider designing a sub 4-metre sedan for India at one point too. The plan however was dropped in favour of a new SUV for the Indian market - the Kicks - which will be launched in January 2019.

(Nissan Kicks)

The sub 4-metre sedan was conceptualised by Nissan's Indian design studio that is based in Chennai. Speaking to NDTV carandbike, Alfonso Albaisa, Executive Design Director, Nissan Group said, "We have had India as our focus for a long time and of course we study and see the possibility but the sub 4-metre market is tough. Its not like you can come in and success is guaranteed and a company naturally weighs 'is that where we want to focus?' or should we be joining the SUV revolution that is in India today."

(Maruti Suzuki Dzire is the segment's best-selling offering)

He also went on to explain how even though there are a lot of car companies today that have pulled off the sub 4-metre sedan concept, the idea itself is a total nightmare to most designers. He also went on to explain how it was difficult to make a sub 4-metre car that was comfortable enough for 5 people and yet looked great, especially in a sedan format. That is also one of the reasons the sub 4-metre SUV is a popular option now since it is a taller car and with large chunky wheels and tyres, looks a lot more aggressive and palatable than say a hatch or a sedan.