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Neeraj Garg, director, sales and marketing, Nissan Motor India Private Limited during the launch of 'TEANA' in Chennai yesterday. Also seen is Unni Krishnan, general manager.

        To enhance its brand in the Indian automobile market, Nissan Motor India Private Limited, has come out with its luxury sedan 'TEANA' in the premium segment category.

        Launching the new range at a function held in the city yesterday, Neeraj Garg, director, sales and marketing, Nissan Motor India said that 'TEANA' is the second model after SUV 'X-Trail' launched in 2004. And the prime objective of rolling out 'TEANA' in the market is to give the Nissan customers a choice to choose from Nissan's wide range of cars.

        Speaking to News Today on the sidelines of the function, K Unni Krishnan, general manager (marketing and sales) said that the company has planned to sell 350 units of 'TEANA' in the Indian market during this fiscal and had proposed to enhance its market share in the premium luxury segment and added that the new car would compete with Toyota Camry, Mercedes Benz C-Class which would target executives of 35 plus age group.

        Referring to the company's X-Trail model, Krishnan said that the model had received a tremendous response from the customers and added that last year the model had 250 units of sale on pan-India basis.

        Moreover, it won the hearts of northern customers. As far as south Indian market is concerned, Bangalore topped the rank.

        On the company's presence in India, Krishnan said that they have dealers in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and during this fiscal they have planned to expand their network.

        He said the new range was manufactured based on the feedback from the customers after a market study.

        Regarding future plans, Krishnan said that entry level car from Nissan stable would be made available to the Indian market by the second half of 2009. As of now, things are in the initial stages.

        Detailing the salient features of TEANA, Krishnan said that the car which is powered by a 2.3 litre VQ23DE petrol engine is equipped with four-speed automatic transmission. The engine produces a power of

        170ps at 6,000 rpm and one can see the V6 engine being placed in a 'v' shape under the bonnet for safety reasons. Apart from this,

        'TEANA' comes with an innovative lock system allowing the owner to open and close the door locks and start the ignition without

        removing the key. Thus, instead of pressing a button, when the owner nears the vehicle, it automatically unlocks(if locked) and locks (if unlocked). The exterior of 'TEANA' starts with a front-end design with chrome-grille, headlamps and fog lamps while the interior comes with high quality wood trim, easy to operate controls. An added attraction is the double exhaust and the rear airconditioning system.

        The new TEANA which is available in five colours has been priced at Rs 20,47,000 (ex-showroom Chennai).