Nissan Micra (March) receives the ‘Most Environmental friendly Car of the Year’ award in Thailand + Receives over 7000 bookings in just 3 weeks

The March (Micra to us) barely went on sale a month ago in Thailand and it has already won its first award. The Micra went on sale in Thailand first and has taken home the “Most Environmental Friendly car” at the Car of the Year awards ceremony by Grand Prix International Co., Ltd. The award ceremony was made at the 31st Bangkok International Motor Show 2010. Moving on, Nissan won three awards for its Micra, Teana and Navara.

Jury members for the awards consist of a mix of journalists, engineers, well-known university lecturers and auto experts help assess vehicles to a range of features including design, comfort, fuel economy, handling, performance, environmental friendliness, customer satisfaction and value for money. The findings are published regularly to help prospective purchasers decide which vehicle is best suited to their requirements. The award is regarded as Thailand’s most influential automotive award, and is expected to boost the already positive sales figures.

The Micra’s environmentally friendly 3-cylinder engine emits just 115g/km of CO2 while the supercharged version emits just 95. The Luxury car Teana 250 XV V6 (the same version is on sale in India) took top honours in the ‘Best Mid-size Sedan Under 2,500 cc’ (Honda’s Accord 2.4 won this award in 2009) and the Frontier Navara 4×4 won the ‘Best Pick-up 4WD under 2,500 cc’ for the third consecutive year. The Teana is a brilliant luxury car, and as a chauffer driven car, it is unbeatable. The combination of refinement, space, design and quality is difficult to achieve and Nissan have done that perfectly. We just hope Nissan goes into CKD mode for the Teana and X-Trail before its too late.

Mr. Prapat Choeychom, SVP for Marketing & Service, Nissan Motor (Thailand) Co., Ltd. commented, “We are very pleased to have received the COTY 2010 Award.  This is a clear indication that Nissan is on the right track – delivering products that are exciting and of great value.”

Together with the award, the March (Micra to us) has registered over 7,000 bookings in 3 weeks since its public introduction on March 13, 2010. Nissan Motor Thailand aims to realize 7.4% market share in FY10 which is the highest ever share since FY04. So, will the Micra be able to do the same in India? We keep our fingers crossed. Neither is there enough Marketing from Nissan nor are there enough dealerships which will hamper sales and reach adversely. India is the most difficult market with 23 hatchbacks already battling it out in the tough marketplace. So come on Nissan, learn from VW and hit the gas pedal and tell Indians more on the Micra!

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