Nissan hopes to sell 20,000 units of its ecocar March in the first year, after yesterday's launch, carrying price tags of Bt375,000 up to Bt 537,000 for the energyefficient unit.
The 1.2litre March consumes one litre of petrol to cover 20 kilometres and is also compatible with gasohol E20. The top of the line also features innovative technology like idle start and stop to save fuel.
"With the March we will compete with all other major brands in Thailand. The A and B segments are the fastest growing segments in Asia and we will export the March to many countries from Thailand," said Toru Hasegawa, president of Nissan Motor Thailand.
He dismissed comments from Toyota officials that the March would not be able to sell more than 5,000 units.
Thailand is the first country to produce the March, followed by manufacturing sites in China, India and Mexico. About 90,000 units of the March will be produced within the first fiscal year, of which 70,000 units will be exported to other Asian countries, including Japan.
"The majority of our competition will come from the Bsegment, from cars like the Honda Jazz and the Toyota Yaris. About 50 per cent of our customers will be those looking for an additional car, with 25 per cent being firsttime buyers and the remaining 25 per cent looking for a replacement car," added Hasegawa.
Deliveries of the manual transmission version of the vehicle will start in March, with the CVT automatic transmission versions starting delivery in June. Over 80 per cent of the cars sold are expected to be the CVT version.
In fiscal year 2010, Nissan hopes to sell 48,000 vehicles comprising 20,000 each of Marchs and pickups and a total 8,000 units of Tiidas and Teanas. By 2012, it hopes to sell 35,000 units of the March, which would constitute about onethird of total production in the country.
The March is based on Nissan's new Vplatform and the company has stated that two more models will be based on the same platform, a sedan and a mini MPV. Company officials did not state if the other two versions would be launched in Thailand, although they are highly likely.
"The current political climate, although likely to have some impact, is not expected to upset the car buyer too much. We expect the automotive market to reach 650,000 units this year," added Hasegawa.
