Aug 3: Nissan Micra wins the honor of being the most exported car in June 2016 in India. The hatchback was shipped as many as 6,807 units to over 100 countries in June. The Micra is manufactured out of the Renault-Nissan plant in Oradagam, in the outskirts of Chennai. The 100 countries where Nissan is exported include Britain, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and almost all key European markets.

Nissan’s export market is far greater than its domestic market, where it hasn’t achieved significantly owing to stiff competition in the segment. Nissan just set foot in India in the year 2010 and has since exported more than 620,000 cars from India.

So, despite the high volume sales of the Micra in the export markets, the domestic sales of the Nissan Micra were a meager 554 units in June 2016. The Japanese carmaker even touts itself as one of the greatest contributors to the Indian Government’s “Make in India” campaign, as it contributed more than Rs. 30,000 crores to India via foreign exchange.

Nissan Micra, in India, is powered by a 1.2-litre petrol engine that develops 77 PS, mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. The fuel efficiency is an interesting 19.34 kmpl, good enough for a petrol motor. Intelligent key, steering-mounted controls, USB connectivity, rear-view camera and monitor, driver, passenger and side airbags, ABS, EBD, Brake Assist, etc. are some of the high-end equipment inside the cute-and-sporty looking hatchback silhouette.