When Magnite met Midnight—70 women took the wheel, and history took a joyride.
Kolkata: Nissan Motor India put the vroom in Utsav this Poila Boishakh, marking the Bengali New Year with a heritage twist and a horsepower boost. In a first-of-its-kind move, the company rolled out India’s debut Heritage Night Drive—but with a delightful spin: the convoy featured only women drivers behind the wheel of their trusty Nissan Magnites.
And no, this wasn’t your typical New Year’s soiree. It was less about fireworks and more about fenders, less about selfies and more about steering. Over 70 bold and brilliant women, along with their families, took over the streets of Kolkata in 25 sparkling Magnite SUVs, lighting up the city’s heritage sites with equal parts high beam and high spirit.
The drive flagged off in style from the Taj Bengal’s Mandarin Hall, which—for a few hours—might as well have been rechristened as Magnite Mahal. From there, the SUV parade glided past postcard-perfect icons like Victoria Memorial, Prinsep Ghat Park, Eden Gardens, Park Street, and more, while historian and heritage maven Tuhina Chatterjee dished out tales and trivia more riveting than a thriller on wheels.
If you thought the route was the only thing winding, wait till you hear what was packed into the evening:
✓ Certified driving lessons tailored to city chaos
✓ Networking with Nissan’s top brass
✓ An elegant dinner with even more elegant conversations
✓ And yes, commemorative certificates, because if you’re steering history, it deserves to be framed.
Saurabh Vatsa, Managing Director of Nissan Motor India, couldn’t have summed it up better:
“We didn’t just celebrate Poila Boishakh—we drove through it. This event was about more than just cars; it was a moving tribute (quite literally) to empowered women and a nod to Kolkata’s timeless charm.”
The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. As Nissan Motor India cruises through its best year in nearly a decade—with 99,000+ units sold in FY2024-25 and the Magnite clocking 28,000+ domestic units—the brand is shifting gears, both literally and metaphorically. Exports too have been nothing short of a pitstop success story, with sales zooming from 20 to 65+ international markets, and 71,000+ units sent off globally.
This Heritage Night Drive may have ended under the stars, but its message was loud and clear: the road to the future is wide open, inclusive, and occasionally… illuminated by fairy lights and feminist horsepower.
Poila Boishakh got a new ritual this year—one that includes seatbelts, stories, and sisterhood.
