The SUV has been tested at Nissan’s world-class testing facility, the Nissan Tochigi Proving Ground, where other models such as the Nissan GT-R and Nissan Ariya, have been tested.

With its stylish design, robust and dynamic road presence and an evolutionary leap in global Sports Utility Vehicle DNA, Nissan hopes that the Magnite will redefine the B-SUV segment in India. Developed as a model under Datsun brand, the Magnite will be competing with the likes of Tata Nexon, Ford EcoSport and Mahindra XUV300.

Magnite delivers on all four of Nissan’s fundamental pillars – bold exteriors, interiors, technology and performance. The front is flooded with LEDs with a bi-projector headlamp, indicators, daytime running lamps and fog lamps. The square wheel arches enhance the bold styling along with the integrated sculpted body-side cladding. The chrome beltline moves up to the quarter window in the C-pillar. The 16-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels accentuate the looks. It has a five-metre turning radius to help manoeuvre tight corners and parking.

Takumi Yoneyama, Design Manager, Nissan Motor Corporation, said, “The Nissan Magnite Concept embodies Nissan’s spirit in every way. Our design approach was based on the art of sculpting and not just drawing lines on paper. We sculpted a solid and dynamic feel by carving a shape from a big, overhanging body. We followed the core of Japanese sense and aesthetic by extracting pure dynamism and shedding the unnecessary. We are proud to introduce our newest creation, and we hope that our customers in India will love it.”

Interiors

The interiors of the car are wide and spacious due to the horizontal instrument panel, followed by the air ventilators that have a distinctive shape and cliff section, which makes it look sporty and enhances the SUV feel. It also includes a sporty mono-form shape seat which enhances comfort, and the rear seats offer robust pattern and rich cushioning adding to the premium-ness of the car.

The sporty 7-inch instrument panel, fully integrated steering wheel and an 8-inch touchscreen that is compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay can be connected through Wi-Fi. It comes with Tech Pack comprising of a wireless charger, air purifier, puddle lamps and ambient mood lighting.

In terms of safety, the Magnite comes with Vehicle Dynamics Control for safe manoeuvring in tight corners and risky situations. In addition, it comes with dual air-bags, Hill-start assist, traction and anti-roll bar to minimise body roll.

Powered by Nissan’s HRA0 turbo engine having mirror-bore technology, it is mated with two gearbox options – manual and Xtronic CVT. The new engine delivers a maximum power of 100PS and maximum torque of 160Nm. It also boasts of appreciable torque to weight ratio which is demonstrated by the efficiency of the engine. The HRA0 engine borrows “mirror bore cylinder coating” technology from world-class sports cars such as the Nissan GT-R. This technology helps in reducing resistance inside the engine, cutting weight, improving heat management and combustion, eventually delivering smooth acceleration and efficient fuel use. The machine is very responsive when revved and provides better acceleration compared to naturally aspirated engines, especially in take-off and overtaking situations. It is evident from smooth acceleration and the revolution of the engine. It does not mean that the engine is over-working with big noise; it is silent, and helps reduce noise, vibration, and harshness.

Xtronic CVT

The conventional CVT has a rubber-band effect thanks to the belt between the two pulleys, which results in a lag between engine RPM and power to the wheels. However, Nissan uses steel belts in its signature Xtronic CVT transmission with the third generation D-Step logic control which is also found in other Global Nissan models such as Altima, Pathfinder, Murano and the sporty Maxima. In Xtronic CVT, the RPM builds as speed increases providing enhanced drivability with a direct, crisp shift feel; there’s no “hunting for a gear” feel or shift shock. After take-off, unlike other CVTs, the Xtronic CVT applies lockup damper; it skips torque converter, resulting in immediate and sustained power delivery.

According to Nissan India, the Magnite with manual gearbox offers 20kmpl while the CVT gets only 18kmpl. To meet demands and redefine the growing SUV segment in the country, the Magnite will cater to multiple aspirants with multiple options. XE (Base) comes with standard 16-inch wheels, skid plates, functional roof rails, 3.5-inch LCD cluster, all-power windows and dual-tone interiors for a real entry into the SUV experience. XL (Mid) comes with six speakers for integrated audio, steering wheel audio control, automatic AC and electrically adjustable & foldable outside mirrors for a comfortable upgrade. XV (High) revamps the technological experience with 16-inch diamond-cut alloys, LED daytime running lamps (DRL) and fog lamps, 8-inch floating touch screen (with Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), 7-inch TFT meter, voice recognition, rear-view camera and push-button start. XV (Premium) is packed with technologies such as the LED bi-projector headlamps, cruise control, 360-degree around-view monitor, tyre pressure monitor and full sporty interiors.

For the technological savvy customer, Nissan’s optional ‘Tech Pack’ includes wireless charger, air purifier, ambient mood lighting, puddle lamps and high-end speakers from JBL.

“The all-new Nissan Magnite plays a vital role in our Nissan NEXT strategy and represents Nissan’s undeniable commitment to the Indian market as a customer-centric organisation. The car reiterates our brand philosophy of keeping customers at the heart of everything we do to deliver exciting products for enriching experiences. As we continue to prioritise and invest in the Indian consumer, who is aspirational and discerning with vehicles, we aim for the all-new Nissan Magnite to be the first product that will enable sustainable growth. Nissan will continue to be the primary brand in India,” said Sinan Ozkok, President, Nissan Motor India.

“Given the growing popularity of B-SUVs in India, we aim for the all-new Nissan Magnite to redefine the segment and surpass customer expectations in the country. It is the ideal aspirational upgrade for hatchback customers in India who are weighing their options and looking to own a world-class SUV, from a globally renowned brand that has a strong SUV heritage,” said Rakesh Srivastava, Managing Director, Nissan Motor India.

In total, the Nissan Magnite is not only big, bold and beautiful but is also benevolent in offering space, features, comfort and convenience. It is a bold little package for a nifty compact SUV. (MT)

European automotive major Stellantis India has announced a strategic reorganisation of its senior leadership team as it prepares for the launch of the Leapmotor brand and looks to accelerate the growth of its Citroen and Jeep operations in the country.

The move is aimed at aligning the company’s leadership structure with long-term strategic goals, fostering agility, and enhancing collaboration and innovation within the organisation.

As part of the changes, Kumar Priyesh, currently Business Head and Director of Automotive Brands, will take charge of the retail business, overseeing sales and network development for Jeep, Citroen and the upcoming Leapmotor brand. The company said Priyesh’s experience will be vital in ensuring a seamless and improved customer experience across Stellantis' brand portfolio.

Meanwhile, Shishir Mishra, who leads Strategic Partnerships and Institutional Business, will now head Stellantis India's institutional business, mobility services and the pre-owned and finance & insurance segments across brands. His expanded role places him at the centre of Stellantis' mobility strategy and innovation initiatives.

Shailesh Hazela will continue as CEO and Managing Director of Stellantis India, leading the company’s overall strategic direction and ensuring alignment with global priorities while tailoring efforts to meet local market demands.

“This leadership realignment underlines Stellantis India’s commitment to delivering excellence, innovation, and growth in one of the company’s key markets,” the company said in a statement.

The reorganisation comes at a critical time for Stellantis in India, as the automaker aims to strengthen its multi-brand strategy in a highly competitive market, while tapping into emerging trends such as electric mobility and shared transport solutions.

Mumbai-headquartered automotive major Mahindra & Mahindra has announced its financial results for FY2025 with revenue of INR 1,592 billion, up 14 percent YoY and a net profit of INR 129 billion, up 20 percent YoY.

The robust financial performance was underpinned by strong automotive sales across key segments. Mahindra stated it continue to top the SUV sales with a revenue market share of 22.5 percent. Furthermore, the OEM held the top spot in the Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) segment under 3.5 tonnes, commanding a market share of 51.9 percent. The Tractor division also achieved its highest ever full-year market share at 43.3 percent.

Going forward, the company continues to maintain an optimistic outlook for SUV and EV sales. In fact, Mahindra is set to increase its manufacturing capacity for XUV 3X0 and Thar Roxx by 3,000 units, a new platform capacity in Chakan for 120,000 units per annum and a new greenfield facility by FY2028, which will primarily focus on the passenger vehicle segment. The company is also looking at different states and the kind of incentives it gets, before finalising the location.  

“Our current capacity utilisation on the SUV side is almost over 90 percent with Scorpio very close to capacity, Thar Roxx and 3X0 fully on capacity and Bolero is lesser in capacity,” said Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director & CEO – Auto and Farm Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra.

Furthermore, the company’s born electric platform, which has spawned the BE 6 and XEV 9e has recently crossed the 6,300 sales mark. At present, the EVs have around 40,000 bookings with an average waiting time of 4-5 months.

Jejurikar explained that an EV customer usually sees around 2 hours of discussion time at the dealership, which is significantly higher than that of an ICE-vehicle customer.

“There's also work to be done by way of enabling charging infrastructure to be facilitated, set up, which means working with their societies or their office complexes wherever they want the charger and all of that needs to be coordinated well and then there's an installation process to be done at home. We have seen that this process is very important to customers to make sure that the experience is very seamless. As we think about ramping up, this is an added thing over and above the input quality which of course is a very important parameter because there is a lot of high tech and so we want to be very calibrated in the way we ramp up. As we have said earlier, that even though we have capacity, we are not operationalising all of that,” added Jejurikar.

A significant highlight was the positive performance of Mahindra's EV division. The company reported being EBITDA positive in the first quarter of the fiscal year within its EV segment, even without considering certain incentives (PLI). This achievement was attributed to a favourable variant mix. While celebrating this milestone, the company cautioned that achieving EBIT margin positivity in the EV sector is anticipated to take several quarters, potentially extending to a year or 18 months. This timeline reflects the ongoing investments required to scale up their EV operations, for which incentives are intended to provide support. The company anticipates that significant EBITDA positivity in the EV segment will become more pronounced as production volume increases.

On the other hand, responding to slowdown in the passenger vehicle sales, Jejurikar stated, “I think there are several enablers which will start kicking in – government spending, infrastructure spending, all of that which will lead to demand picking up. The smaller segments will start gaining out of the income tax benefit that will start kicking in from the front. We think that will be an enabler as well as interest rates come down over time, I think that will be another positive enabler. I do think that over the next few months, the sentiment will start kicking up. But it's a world with a lot of uncertainty at the moment. Multiple things are happening around the world so we don't see any uncertainty that comes out of that.  But, overall I think many macroeconomic factors are positive.”

Dr Anish Shah, Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra, added, “I just want to reflect on the numbers – both revenue growth and bank growth – where the stress isn't particularly visible. Yes, there is some level of commercial urban stress, but from our product standpoint, we haven't seen significant impact. Even when we look across other businesses, overall, the picture remains positive. The recent actions around liquidity and interest rates should start to drive greater demand and improved functionality. So, on balance, I’d say we aren’t seeing substantial urban stress at this point – perhaps a slight slowdown or a temporary blip, but nothing major. I believe that's something we’ll bounce back from.”

Looking beyond the domestic market, Mahindra expressed considerable optimism regarding its expansion in North America. The launch of the OJA tractor series in the North American market is reported to be gaining significant traction. Specifically, in the less than 110 horsepower tractor segment, where Mahindra has a strong presence, their retail market share has reportedly surged from 3 percent to 10 percent over the past four months. This sub-110 horsepower category constitutes a substantial 40 percent of the total market volume. This significant growth in their key segment underscores the strategic importance of the OTA series and justifies the investments made in its creation.

Responding to a question regarding potential entry into the insurance market, a Dr Shah stated that this has been under consideration for several years. While acknowledging the complementary nature of their existing business and the large market size, he indicated that any entry would be contingent on identifying a suitable approach that ensures successful returns. But no immediate plans for entering the insurance sector were announced.

Going forward, Mahindra is said to be open to new partnerships and acquisitions.

Skoda Auto Volkswagen India (SAVWIPL) has announced key leadership changes as part of its ongoing localisation and growth strategy.

Ashish Gupta, currently Brand Director of Volkswagen Passenger Cars, will take over as Brand Director of Skoda India from 1 May 2025, succeeding Petr Janeba, who returns to Skoda Auto in the Czech Republic.

Gupta brings over 20 years of automotive experience, including five years leading the Volkswagen brand in India. Nitin Kohli, currently with Audi India, will step into Gupta’s role as Brand Director of Volkswagen Passenger Cars. Kohli has over 25 years in automotive sales, including 12 with SAVWIPL.

“These changes reaffirm our focus on nurturing Indian leadership talent and staying agile in a dynamic market,” said Piyush Arora, CEO & MD, SAVWIPL. “Ashish and Nitin are well-positioned to lead Skoda and Volkswagen into their next growth phase.”

Jan Bures, Board Member and Executive Director, Sales, Marketing & Digital, SAVWIPL, said, “Ashish and Nitin have consistently delivered impact with agility and customer-centric thinking. Their appointment is not just a leadership change; it signals a broader shift in how we are building resilient, future-ready teams from within India. We are confident that both Ashish and Nitin will bring renewed energy and direction to the journeys of Skoda and Volkswagen.”

The transition is aligned with SAVWIPL’s broader efforts to strengthen local capabilities and drive future-ready brand strategies in India.

Mumbai-based automotive major Mahindra & Mahindra has announced its wholesales for April 2025 at 84,170 vehicles, a growth of 19 percent, including exports.

The auto major sold a total of 52,330 SUVs in the domestic market, which was 28 percent higher than 41,008 SUVs sold for the same period last year. Commercial vehicle sales in the domestic market came at 22,989 units, which was 4 percent YoY. 

Veejay Nakra, President, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra, said, “Building on the strong momentum of last year's performance, we began the year on a strong note in April by achieving SUV sales of 52,330 units, a growth of 28 percent and total vehicle sales of 84,170 units, a 19 percent growth over the same month last year. These numbers indicate the strength of our portfolio and customer offerings.”