Nissan, Indian Firm Team Up for $3,559 4-Seat Car

TRAVERSE CITY, MI – There hasn’t been a U.S. car priced in the mid-$3,000 range for at least 30 years.

But in India you can buy Nissan’s Datsun redi-GO 4-seater starting at $3,559. Add air conditioning, a driver’s-side airbag, power steering and power windows and the sticker soars to $4,214.

Hinduja Tech, a unit of the $30 billion London-based Hinduja conglomerate, exhibited a bright white redi-GO at the Management Briefing Seminars here. It’s powered by an 0.8L 3-cyl. Nissan engine that reportedly achieves 50 mpg (4.7 L/100 km) and is far more advanced in features and styling than rivals common in this segment.

It boasts ample backseat space, a small trunk that can fit two golf bags and doubles in size with the rear seats folded, standard seatbelts and a 12V outlet on the dash. The power-window switches are centered in the console, reducing the need for switches on both doors.

At 1,744 lbs. (785 kg), the all-steel-body minicar weighs about half as much as a typical U.S. compact car.

The redi-GO, currently available only in India but aimed at emerging markets, was launched in June.

So what’s HT’s role in the redi-GO? Nissan did the styling and provided specifications, then HT engineered and developed the car for assembly. “We used our frugal engineering process” to keep costs down, says Jay K.A. Ramaswamy, HT manager-engineering.

As one example, he points to a side-door pocket that is exposed to the painted steel inner panel, eliminating the soft material backing customarily used in such applications.  “We saved in both process and tooling time,” he explained.

Of course India has yet to fully implement emissions, fuel-economy and safety standards common in the U.S., all of which add complexity and cost. Auto workers in India reportedly earn $6 to $7 hourly compared with $25-plus in the U.S. And it takes more workers to build cars, because India lacks the advanced automation found in Western factories.

Faiz Ahmad, HT senior vice president and head of its global engineering business, says a U.S. factory can produce a vehicle every 30 seconds vs. 60 to 90 seconds in India.

HT also engineered and developed Renault’s KWID entry-level small car built and sold in India. Introduced a year ago, some 50,000 have been sold and there’s a 6-month waiting list, Ahmad says.

HT typically can cut overall engineering and product-development costs 7%-21%, he says, reducing time to market 15%-33%. Engineering costs alone can be shaved in a range of 30%-50%.

HT also has engineered a new 1.0L 3-cyl. diesel engine for an undisclosed customer that may find a home in a small car in 2017 or ’18. Ahmad says it may cost $500 more than a gasoline engine, but HT anticipates it will deliver 75 mpg (3.1 L/100 km), 50% more than the redi-GO’s gas engine.