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Nissan Micra Enters Production in India

The global compact car presented by Japanese manufacturer Nissan at the 2010 Geneva Auto Show is entering production at the Renault-Nissan alliance plant at Oragadam, Chennai this week, with the start of sales set for July.

"The day that all of us were waiting for has finally arrived and we are delighted with the roll out of the first car. We always had a clear strategy for India and this has been clearly reflected in our investments in the first manufacturing plant for the alliance in Chennai. We are now confident that the Indian customers will like our product offerings beginning with the Nissan Micra, and this is the right product at the right time," Kiminobu Tokuyama, Nissan Motor India CEO said in a statement.

The new Micra which, according to Nissan, will be marketed in 160 countries, retains its compact dimensions, but is a bit longer and lower than the previous generation.

The Micra will offer two engines options (for Europe): a new naturally aspirated HR12 1.2l 3-cylinder petrol engine (80 ps/108Nm of torque) and a supercharged 1.2l direct injection iteration with a start-stop system (98 ps/142Nm of torque). Both units will be made available with a 5-speed manual gearbox or Nissan's all-new Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT).

According to Nissan, the Chennai plat will initially manufacture 200,000 units a year, with the target for fiscal year 2010 set at 80,000. The cars will be produced at first by a workforce comprising 1,900 workers. In time, the employment scheme will encompass 6,000 people.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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