The Nissan Livina is taking the world by storm—albeit slowly.

Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. has recently announced its launch of the 2008 Nissan Livina and Grand Livina in Taiwan last weekend. This is Nissan’s attempt to meet the needs of diverse consumers by including minivans and compact hatchback segments in its vehicle lineup.

In line with the debut of the Livina series, Yulon Nissan Motor Co. of Taiwan and Nissan Motor Company South Africa recently conducted kick-off events. Nissan will launch the Grand Livina in November this year and the Livina in January next year in South Africa.

The Livina series in South Africa and Taiwan will be manufactured locally at the Rosslyn plant and the San Yi plant, respectively.

The Nissan Grand Livina had its first sales in China in November 2006, carrying the brand name Livina Geniss. In April this year, the sale of the Livina model followed; the Gran d Livina was launched in Indonesia. Despite its being relatively new in the market, the Livina Geniss and Grand Livina have already been acclaimed as Indonesian Car of the Year and Best Compact MPV by Mobil Motor Magazine.

The Grand Livina is a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) that has a seating capacity of seven people. It comes with 1.5, 1.6, or 1.8-liter gasoline engines including a four-speed automatic or five- or six-speed manual transmission, plus other exciting Nissan parts.

Planning to expand its market reach, Nissan is set to introduce the Livina and Grand Livina series to more countries in Asia. The Nissan Grand Livina will be launced in Malaysia before this year ends and in the Philippines next year. Also, Livina will be introduced in Indonesia in early 2008. The Nissan vehicles in Malaysia, Philippines, and Indonesia will be produced locally.

Source: Nissan