Nissan to bring back Datsun and its coming to India
Nissan plans on reviving the Datsun name in order to launch affordable automobiles aimed at the developing markets such as India and Russia. Datsun will officially begin sales in India by 2014 in the entry hatchback segment with a price under Rs 4 lakh. During the first year of production Datsun will have two new cars in their portfolio. The cars will be based on all new platforms that will not be shared across brands. There is no news however if this is the same ultra low cost car project that Nissan were planning with Bajaj. Nissan says that there will be a clear differentiation between the vehicles offered by the sister brands (Infiniti and Datsun) and Datsun represents the entry level budget car that is fun to drive, modern and efficient.
In 2007, Nissan had 40 per cent of its global sales coming in from countries such as China, Brazil and Russia. The Japanese car maker aims to take this number to 60 per cent by 2016 with the Datsun brand playing a key part. The first two products in India will come from the Renault-Nissan shared Chennai plant.
When introduced in North America in the early 80s, the Datsun brand was favoured for its low cost, fuel efficient and reliable cars. However in 1983, it was axed in favour of Nissan's aim to strengthen its global presence.
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