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A WORTHY
competitor to
Toyota’s
Innova may have finally arrived. Nissan Motors
Philippines Inc. (NMPC) last week formally launched
their latest offering to the automobile market, the
Grand Livina. The unveiling coincided with the 25th
anniversary of NMPC in the Philippines.
Spurred
by the growth in the Philippine market by the automobile
industry, NMPC has decided to come out with a car that
is as versatile and comfortable as any MPV in the
market.
NMPC
president Allen Chen said, “the timing and opportunity
is right for the AUV and MPV segment, where the biggest
shift of vehicles happening. This as the car industry
has reportedly increased by 18 percent, moving over
99,000 vehicles in 2006 to over 117,000 vehicles last
year.”
Nissan
wants to take advantage of the shift in taste and
position the Grand Livina in the AUV/MPV segment. But
despite this, it also wants to depict the Grand Livina
as a sedan. In short, what the company aims to do is to
marry two variants into one and satisfy a broader
buyership as well as tap a market that the Inova could
not.
The new
Grand Livina has all the power, comfort and handling of
a luxury sedan, but also carries the roominess and
versatility of a multi-purpose vehicle.
“It is a
vehicle that will shatter all your perceptions of what
an MPV is or what a sedan can do,” added Chen.
Nissan
claims the Grand Livina was created not in response to
competition but to satisfy the needs of a certain market
that has been clamoring for such a vehicle that can
truly serve more than one purpose.
The
Grand Livina is even target specific said Chen as they
intend to go after the up-and-coming Filipinos or
yuppies aged 25 to 40, those that are looking for a car
that feels and drives like a sedan and yet has the
versatility and space of an MPV.
The
Grand Livina has so far sold about 50,000 units in
Malaysia and another 20,000 in Thailand since their
launch last year.
The
vehicle is powered by Nissan’s latest generation MR
engine tacked to a six-speed manual transmission or a
high tech electronic automatic transmission, giving it a
quicker acceleration but with a more economical small
displacement engine.
Inside,
space can easily be manipulated using a cord that drops
the third-row seats, two more adjustments on the
second-row seats produce a huge trunk space that has a
completely flat floor very suitable for a Pinoy’s
balikbayan box.
What’s
more, the Grand Livina is Filipino-made as it is
produced at the Nissan manufacturing plant in
Santa Rosa, Laguna.
As for
its price, entry-level 1.8L manual transmission “Elite”
will retail for P848,000 pesos. The mid-range variant
1.8L automatic transmission “Luxury” will sell for
P898,000. And the top-of-the-line “Elegance” is priced
at P968,000. |
