Datsun Making Global Comeback In India In July
32 years after removing it from its lineup, Nissan is all set to revive the venerable Datsun brand in markets like India, South Africa, Russia & Indonesia. Carlos Ghosn, global CEO of Renault-Nissan, will formally launch the brand at the Kingdom of Dreams in New Delhi on the 15th of July this year. Also expected is the unveiling of the first Datsun model, which will be a five-door hatchback costing less than Rs. 4 Lakh.
India is a tough market and it’s not going to be a picnic for us, but we believe Datsun can crack it with modernity and a superior product.
– Vincent Cobee, Corporate VP, Datsun Business Unit
Datsun is targeting the budget end of the market primarily, hoping to sell large volumes of cars. Nissan is depending heavily on Datsun to create a good blend of affordability and Japanese reliability in order to attract Indian consumers in the most competitive segment in the market. They hope that superior styling will help sway opinions, with the entire family sporting a prominent hexagonal grille for it to stand out among other new-age design elements.
Datsun Fairlady 240Z
The first model is expected to be a five-door hatchback powered by the same 1.2-litre 3 cylinder petrol engine as the Nissan Micra. Its expected to be as spacious as the Micra, but much lighter. Datsun says that it will have much superior performance and best in-class fuel efficiency. The car is expected to hit the market in mid-2014 and give tough competition to the Hyundai Eon/i10 and various Maruti Suzuki hatchbacks.
