Nissan to launch cheap brand in India and other emerging markets - Nikkei

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Nissan Motor Co plans to launch cheap automobiles tailored for emerging markets under its old Datsun brand in 2014, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Thursday, as it revs up efforts to tap into fast-growth countries.

The vehicles, priced around 500,000 yen, will initially be built and sold in India, Indonesia and Russia, the Nikkei said. Japan's No. 2 automaker hopes to sell 300,000 Datsuns a year soon, the paper said, without citing sources.

A Nissan spokesman declined to comment on the report. Nissan has been pushing rapidly into emerging markets, including through a partnership with Ashok Leyland Ltd in India and a recently announced factory in Brazil, where it aims to triple its market share by 2016.

The move would also follow the reboot of other auto industry brands that were discontinued in the 1970s and 80s, such as the Dodge Dart and the Toyota 86, which will be re-released in April.

While other Japanese automakers have developed models for emerging countries, this will mark the first brand created just for those markets, the Nikkei said.

Datsun will now make models tailored to the specific needs of each market, the paper said.

Shares of Nissan were up 0.9 per cent at 835 yen on Friday morning, in line with the broader market.