Nissan’s Datsun makes comeback after 30 years

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Gurgaon: Announcing the global relaunch of its Datsun brand, Japanese auto major Nissan on Monday unveiled its hatchback ‘Datsun Go’ with plans to launch a total of three models under the range by 2016, which will all be priced less than Rs 4 lakh.
The company, which is reviving the brand after nearly three decades of discontinuing the marque, said ‘Datsun Go’ will be available in the Indian market from early next year and it is expecting 50 per cent of its sales in India to come from the Datsun brand.
“Today, we begin a new chapter in the history of Nissan. Datsun is back... The car will go on sales early next year in India, followed by Indonesia, Russia and South Africa," Nissan Motor Co President and CEO Carlos Ghosn said here. He said the launch of the Datsun brand in India is part of the company’s strategy to increase sales from emerging markets.” Ghosn said.
“We have a market share of little over 1.2 per cent in India at present. We are looking to take it to 10 per cent in the mid term (2016). We expect Datsun to play a significant role in this,” Ghosn added.
The Indian car market had crossed the three million-mark in 2011 and is expected to touch four million by 2016, he added. While he did not share the exact price of the car, Ghosn said it will be priced less than Rs 4 lakh.
Commenting on the expectations of the Datsun brand in India, Nissan Motor Co programme director Datsun business unit Ashwani Gupta said: “By 2016, half of the volumes of Nissan in India will be from Datsun and globally, in Indonesia and Russia it will be one-third to half.”
When asked if the company will offer bigger products under the Datsun brand, he said the core of the brand’s future products in India will be priced below Rs 4 lakh. “After the launch of Datsun Go in early 2014, the second model will follow later in the year and another third product before 2016,” Gupta explained.