Nissan Appoints Hover Automotive India as Sole and Exclusive Distributor in India

MUMBAI, India - Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (NML) and Hover Automotive India Pvt. Ltd (HAI) significantly strengthened their four-year partnership by signing a sole and exclusive distribution agreement in India.

The agreement will directly support an acceleration of Nissan's sales growth within the market, enhance the company's sales and marketing strategy and build customer touch points across the region.

The move will also help to further imbed and localize Nissan within the Indian market. The popular Micra hatchback and Sunny sedan are already produced at the company's Oragadam Plant near Chennai, and a third home-grown model - the Evalia urban-class utility vehicle - will be added to the production lines later this year.

HAI's extensive knowledge of the Indian market will also help integrate the specific needs of Nissan's growing customer base with the company's mid and long-term product and business planning.

Under the terms of the agreement, HAI will undertake sales and marketing, customer relations, dealer development, sales and marketing related public relations, training and aftersales service in India as Nissan's exclusive distributor. HAI will continue to operate as an independent company with an exclusive distribution agreement with NML.

Nissan Motor India Private Limited (NMIPL) will remain as Nissan's overall business management company in India, controlling the functions of corporate planning, product planning, total customer satisfaction, accessory parts development, vehicle and service parts logistics, finance, corporate communications, external affairs and export management.
Nissan appointed HAI as its service partner for marketing, sales, after-sales service and dealer development in India in 2008. Since then, HAI has over-achieved Nissan's business objectives and made outstanding contributions in key business areas.

This includes rapidly expanding Nissan's dealer network by opening approximately 100 dealers by the end of 2012, and increasing Nissan's market share.

HAI has also successfully managed the launch of two key strategic Nissan models - the locally produced Micra and Sunny, and dramatically increased annual sales from approximately 200 units in FY2008 up to 33,268 units in FY2011.

To accommodate this level of sales growth, which continues to outpace many competitors, last year Nissan doubled the production capacity of its Oragadam Plant to 400,000 units per year.

Toru Hasegawa - Nissan Corporate Vice President for Africa, the Middle East and India, commented: "Today's confirmation that we are strengthening our bond with HAI will significantly benefit our business within one of Nissan's key strategic global markets, and shows our commitment to further localize our brand within India.

"Over the past four years, HAI has demonstrated its skill and expertise in customer service, marketing and dealer development and management, which has been instrumental in Nissan's continuing development and evolution in India.

"I am delighted that we will be collaborating even more closely in the future, and look forward to the benefits this will bring, not only to our operation, but to our many Indian customers."

G M Singh, HAI's Vice Chairman & Managing Director, added: "This is a testament to the strong relationship that Nissan and HAI have built together over the past four years.  We believe that this next step in our relationship is a strong platform to propel Nissan's growth in this country and allow us to best serve our customers' needs in India.

We look forward to an even closer collaboration with Nissan, our Dealer partners, Banking partners and Vendors in offering innovative and customer centric solutions to the Indian market"

About Nissan Motor India Pvt. Ltd.
Nissan Motor India Private Ltd. (NMIPL), a 100% subsidiary of Nissan Motor Limited Japan, was incorporated in 2005 with a vision of 'Enriching People's Lives' through latest Nissan Technology and products. In February 2008, Nissan together with its global alliance partner Renault signed a MoU with Government of Tamil Nadu to set up a manufacturing plant at Oragadam, near Chennai with an investment of Rs. 4500 crores over a period of 7 years. On March 17, 2010, the Renault-Nissan Alliance plant was inaugurated in a record time of 21 months since its groundbreaking ceremony in June 2008.

About Hover Automotive India Pvt. Ltd.
HAI is the creation of three global entrepreneurs. Mr. Moez Mangalji from Westmont Group, Mr. G.M.Singh and Mr. Kevin Whalen. Together, they form HAI's board of directors and have a proven track record of aligning with global brands to deliver unmatched speed to market and uncompromised customer service.

The partners' diverse experience includes automobile distribution, real estate, world-class hospitality amongst other business interests, as well as brand management and marketing.

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Contacts

David Swerdlow
Corporate Communications
dswerdlow@nissan-europe.com
+41 21 822 4970

Savita Samuel
Nissan Motor India Pvt. Ltd.
+91-8939684422
savita.samuel@email.nissan.in

Sourav Ghosh
Hover Automotive India
+91-9619297491
Sourav.ghosh@hai.net.in

Mayur Shah/Veena Vinod
Adfactors PR
+91-9820149769/
+91-9930657995
Mayur.shah@adfactorspr.com / veena.vinod@adfactorspr.com