Nissan's Infiniti Range and Toyota's Lexus launch on Hold

Toyota and Nissan Motors have put their plans for bringing in their luxury vehicles like Lexus and Infiniti to India. This might be due to the pending decision of the Government of India with regards to India’s free trade negotiations with the European Union. Since this can lead to the German manufacturers like BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi becoming much more aggressive in India.  The other reasons are fall in demand as well as free fall in the value of Rupees.

Under the Policy India is likely to reduce the import duty for European cars for a period of 5 years, under the free-trade agreement. Currently the import rate is 60% and with the implication of the policy the overall tariffs might come down to 30%. The imports are expected to spread out to 5 years with 1^st year which will see 40,000 cars and then rise with every year by 5,000 units.

Toyota had announced plans for Lexus November last year and Nissan announced the Infiniti range March this year. As per a senior director, automotive practice at Frost & Sullivan, V.G.  Ramakrishnan, the Japanese might be holding back their launches due to the pending decision so as to have some clarity before they can take decisions on volumes and investments. Takayuki Ishida, MD & CEO of Nissan India said that Nissan is studying the ways to expand the availability and reach of the Infiniti and when it makes good business sense, they will consider bringing the luxury vehicle in. 

Source: Economic Times