"Market conditions are not good in terms of consumer sentiment. This scheme certainly offers an easier and affordable financing option to buyers," Nitish Tipnis sales and marketing director at Hover Automotive, which handles marketing, sales and after sales service for Nissan, said.

The new scheme is valid for three years and will see the equal monthly instalments (EMIs) coming down by up to 40 per cent, provided the buyer makes 34 per cent down payment, Tipnis claimed, adding the move will help the company do better volumes in the flat-growth climate. Nissan Motor India, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Nissan Motor, had last fiscal clocked 11 per cent growth in sales at 36,975 units against 33,270 units in FY12. Against this, the car sales contracted 6.7 per cent in FY13, the first degrowth in a decade.

Auto-makers are rolling out various schemes to woo customers in the wake of a contraction in sales. Car sales fell 6.7 per cent to 1.89 million last fiscal. In the previous fiscal, car sales had crossed 2 million-mark at 2,031,306 units.

According to the industry lobby Siam projections, passenger car segment is pegged to grow by 3-5 per cent, while the UV segment is likely to grow 11-13 per cent.

"Overall, passenger vehicle sales are estimated to rise by 5-7 per cent in this financial year," Siam said.

Nissan has tied up with leading auto financiers such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank and Tata Capital to offer the scheme, Tipnis said.

PTI