FUTURE READY

We talk to Rahesk Shrivastava, MD, Nissan Motors India, about what the future holds for the company

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Motoring World: We’re excited that the Nissan Magnite is doing well. What comes after that for Nissan in India?

Rakesh Shristava: Launching a new product in itself was a big challenge for us in these COVID times. With the start of this pandemic, everything came to a grinding halt. In my 20+ years in the industry, I have never experienced a single month of zero revenue, so it was quite painful. The silver lining was that we were enduring this pain for the benefit of society at large. During this time, to launch a new product itself was a big challenge. To restart production, bring a new product and engage with everyone was a joy in itself. We implemented a transformation plan called Nissan Next, which focuses on rationalisation and optimisation of our current line-up. The Maginte is a key part of this strategy. Going forward, we’d like to bring more Magnites onto the roads first, that is our priority. To that end, we have employed 1000 more people at our plant and have even started a third shift to cater to current demand.

MW: The Magnite comes with a pair of petrol engines with multiple transmission options. Is there a plan to add a diesel powertrain to the range?