Nissan exports from India to cross 1 lakh cars in 2026-27

Nissan Motor India expects to surpass 100,000 vehicle exports from the country in the next financial year with an expanded product portfolio, according to a senior company official. This underscores India’s growing role as a global export hub for the Japanese carmaker. India is already Nissan's second-largest export base after the UK.

"Export remains one of our fundamental foundational pillars and in this year, financial year 26-27, we are going to cross 100,000 units of export from India. We continue to maintain our strong leadership position in this category, making in India and making for the world," said Saurabh Vatsa, managing director of Nissan India.

Nissan has been relying on exports to sustain scale in its India operations amid weak domestic sales, with nearly three-fourths of vehicles manufactured locally shipped overseas. The company positions India as a strategic export hub for Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Oceania, exporting to more than 65 countries.

Compact SUV Magnite and the Sunny sedan, which was discontinued in the domestic market in 2020, are the two models exported from India. "You would be very interested to know, we still make the Sunny in India, and it is still exported to multiple countries," Vatsa said.

The automaker is currently the third-largest passenger vehicle exporter from India after Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai. In the financial year 2025, the automaker exported 71,334 units, while in the April-January period of the current financial year, Nissan exported 68,091 units.

After years of weak sales with a single-product portfolio, Nissan India is looking at 2026 as a year of turnaround for the company as it expands its product range, strengthens exports, and widens its retail footprint in the domestic market, starting with the launch of the Gravite compact MPV.

The company plans expand its product portfolio from one product to four over the next 12 months, covering segments in the price range of Rs 6 lakh to nearly Rs 20 lakh.

Apart from the compact seven-seater MPV Gravite, which was launched on Tuesday, Nissan plans to introduce the mid-size SUV Tekton around mid-year, followed by a larger seven-seater C-segment SUV. Tekton will be a rebadged version of the recently launched Renault Duster, and the company expects the model to have strong export potential.

In the financial year 2025, Nissan produced 99,332 vehicles in India, of which 71,334 units were exported, making it the third largest car exporter from the country. Domestic sales stood at 27,881 units. Exports included 42,179 units of Sunny and 29,155 units of Magnite.

Between April and January of the financial year 2026, Nissan produced 89,987 units in India and exported 68,091 units, compared with domestic sales of 17,662 units. Sunny exports fell to 23,473 units, almost halved, while Magnite exports rose to 44,618 units during the period.

Nissan's vehicles were manufactured at a joint venture plant in Chennai with Renault. Recently, the company sold its stake in the Renault-Nissan Automotive India plant as part of a restructuring move to become more asset-light and agile. The production, however, will continue at the Renault plant under a contract manufacturing arrangement.