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Japanese car - maker Nissan on Wednesday launched its much- awaited premium small car Nissan Micra in India, marking its foray into the premium small car segment.

In India, Nissan Micra will be available in three standard variants of XE (entry level), XL (mid) and XV (top) priced at Rs 3.98 lakh, Rs 4,69,500 and Rs 528,800, respectively.

Available in two interior colour schemes: black and griege, the Nissan Micra will be introduced in a range of six colours — sunlight orange, brick red, Pacific blue, storm white, blade silver and onyx black.

It is powered by a 1.2- litre, 3- cylinder petrol engine. It offers features, such as intelligent key plus immobiliser, push- button engine startstop system and electric foldable mirror.

Another feature is the intelligent multi- display meter, which gives the driver real time information on fuel economy, cruising range and outside temperature. In addition, the driver power windows are fitted with a ‘ onetouch up/ down’ feature along with a pinch guard.

“ The Nissan Micra is the right product at the right time that will offer customers a good means of urban mobility with a complete package of performance, features, safety and comfort,” Kiminobu Tokuyama, chief executive officer ( CEO) and managing director ( MD), Nissan Motor India, said.

“ We expect Micra with its latent advantage and its unique features to do well in the Indian market and carve a niche of its own compared to other competitive models in this segment,” Tokuyama added.

Nissan Micra will heat up the small car segment in India that accounts for more than 70 per cent of the total car sales in the country.

This hatchback is set to compete with Maruti Suzuki’s Swift and new the WagonR, which is the market leader in the segment.

However, Micra will have other rivals too like Hyundai i10 and i20, Volkswagen’s Polo, Ford’s Figo, Fiat’s Grande Punto and General Motors’ Chevrolet Beat, all priced broadly in the same range.

Being the fastest growing segment, it has already attracted the interest of brands like Volkswagen, Ford and Chevrolet, which are fighting for market share.