Following the news that Japanese automaker Nissan has partnered with car sharing company Zoomcar and leasing giant ORIX for vehicle subscription program in India;

Bakar Sadik Agwan, Senior Automotive Consulting Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view:

“So far, it has been a bumpy ride for Nissan as many of its products remained uncompetitive and failed to perform in India. However, things changed for Nissan with the launch of its Magnite SUV last year. The Renault Nissan Automotive India as a group now stands stronger than earlier with its three brands, Renault, Nissan and Datsun, performing well. Nissan Motor India Pvt. Ltd. sales were up by 2866% in October 2021 on a year-on-year basis and the company now holds a market share of 1.4%.

“Partnering with ORIX and Zoomcar will offer Nissan better brand visibility and better customer outreach. The subscription service named ‘Nissan Intelligent Ownership’ will cover all maintenance costs – both scheduled and unscheduled, replacement of parts, paperwork, insurance, registration, road tax and RTO expenses making ownership hassle-free for customers. Nissan would back on both partners’ extensive experience in the Indian market and service network to offer the services.

“The growth of shared mobility services in India had made automakers rethink vehicle ownership and offer other ownership models such as vehicle subscription, which is more asset-light. Vehicle subscription, which is essentially a rehashed version of leasing, offers a hassle-free and low liability experience to customers. Most automakers in India, including Hyundai, MG Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata, MG Motors, Maruti Suzuki, offer some or all models through subscription. However, subscription services are largely limited to selected Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities currently.

“While upfront purchase and financing are still more prevalent ways of owning a vehicle in India, subscription services are gaining traction. The subscription service and partnership with a market leader such as ORIX will help Nissan to get more vehicles on road for personal as well as commercial/fleet applications. The deal is anticipated to further boost Nissan’s sales volume in India.”