Nissan India has begun exporting the Datsun Go+ MPV, thereby expanding its exports programme to a new market – South Africa. on July 27, it shipped 197 Go+ cars to South Africa, followed by another 111 units on August 26.  

Sales of the Datsun Go+, produced at the Renault-Nissan Alliance plant in Oragadam near Chennai, began on August 31 in South Africa. Commenting on the latest export model,

Guillaume Sicard, president, Nissan India Operations, said: “Following on the success of the India-built Datsun Go’s launch into the small car segment in South Africa, the Go+ is another example of our Make in India models making a mark in overseas markets. Our exports continue to help Nissan build its presence in India and grow the local economy.”

Since operations began at the plant in 2010, over 620,000 cars have been exported overseas. Currently, the Chennai plant exports vehicles to 106 countries around the world. Recent export models include the Datsun Go, Go+, Redigo and Nissan Sunny, among others. In July 2016, the company shipped Datsun Redigos to Nepal. This was followed by export of the Redigo to Sri Lanka in August.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance Chennai plant, which has a manufacturing capacity of 480,000 units per annum, is the Alliance’s largest plant in the world and is among the leading passenger car exporters in India. In 2015-16, Nissan Motor India exported a total of 111,460 units. In the April-August 2016 period, it has despatched 37,612 units, down 14 percent year on year.