In about a fortnight, the Japanese car maker Nissan’s CEO, Mr Carlos Ghosn, will inaugurate Nissan’s India plant on the outskirts of Chennai, and two months after that a new hatchback will roll off the plant’s assembly line, adding to the growing competition in the small car space. The car will first go on sale in Thailand in March, followed by India in July, with European sales slated for November this year.Nissan’s new Micra was unveiled last week at the Geneva Motor Show, in the presence of a huge number of international journalists. The company plans to produce this car in four plants - Thailand, India, Mexico and China - with a fifth plant to be decided later. Addressing the global media at the launch of the new Micra, Mr Ghosn said, “Combine 25 years’ experience of designing compact cars for city driving… with a totally new, versatile platform and Nissan production know-how… and the result is modern, simple and destined to be a serious competitor on the world stage”. The new Micra is built on an all new V platform (V for versatile) and its brand new engine will emit only 95 g per km of CO2. With this car, Nissan hopes to substantially improve its presence in the compact car segment. According to Mr Ghosn, its new line-up of compact cars will help Nissan increase its global market presence from 80 per cent today to 94 per cent in 2012. At full ramp up, in 2013, the company expects annual sales of its global compact cars to top one million units. The fourth-generation Micra (known as March in Japan) will have an all new three-cylinder petrol engine, including supercharged and direct injection versions. It will have a new continuously variable transmission (CVT). The design of the car took into account the need to attract a global audience. The front looks stylish and contemporary with a double-layered integrated grille, though the rear treatment did not quite match up to the styling at the front. The new car is slightly longer and marginally lower and the interior more spacious. In Europe, the car will have two engine options - both are variations on Nissan’s naturally aspirated HR12 1.2-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine. The new engine also employs valve-timing control. In addition, Nissan will also offer a supercharged 1.2-litre direct injection engine with a start-stop system fitted, as standard in Europe. Both engine options are available in Europe with either a five-speed manual transmission or Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). The car will have a turning radius of 4.5 m. The specifications include reversing sensors and a new parking space measurement device to facilitate parking in tight spaces.