Excise duty will not affect SUV launch: Nissan

Nissan Motor India MD & CEO said the Indian economy was growing, which will expand the market for sports utility vehicles

The excise duty increase on sports utility vehicles (SUVs) announced by the government in the Budget 2013-14 will not have an impact on Nissan Motor India's plans to launch an SUV in the country, said a senior executive.

Speaking to the reporters after launching the Nissan Safety Driving Forum in Chennai, Takayuki Ishida, managing director and chief executive officer, Nissan Motor India, said the company was planning to launch a compact SUV in India in the fiscal year 2013-14.

The company expects that the duty increase, around three per cent, would not have much of an impact on the SUV sales.

The Indian economy is growing, which would increase the market for vehicles, he added.

It may be noted that the Union Budget 2013-14 announced on February 28, 2013, raised the excise duty on SUVs from 27 per cent to 30 per cent.

However, the increasing fuel prices would have its impact on the market, with the customer sentiments getting affected.

The remedy is to increase fuel efficiency, including training the users to drive in the right way to reduce the fuel consumption, he added.

The company is organising safety driving forum in India, in three cities - Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai - to highlight the benefits of safety technologies in cars. It has plans to introduce new safety measures from its global R&D into India, to increase the safety of the passengers, said the company officials.