Nissan develops “Datsun” car brand for emerging markets

Nissan and Renault to invest USD 2.5 billion to strengthen base in India

2014/04/16

Summary

Datsun GO
"Datsun GO"
(12th Auto Expo (2014) held in Indiain February 2014)
Datsun GO+
"Datsun GO+"
(12th Auto Expo (2014) in India)

 Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. aims to achieve a global market share of 8% by the end of the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2017. The objective is outlined in the Nissan Power 88, the company’s mid-term business plan covering 2011-2016. To achieve this, the company is developing low-priced, Datsun-brand cars which are newly designed for emerging markets, aiming to significantly increase its unit sales worldwide.
 TheDatsun cars went on sale initially in India in March 2014. The model was mainly developed by local engineers in India and achieved a local procurement ratio of nearly 100%. These two factors have enabled the company to keep costs significantly low. This first Datsun car is sold as the low-priced vehicle, but Nissan says that it offers the greater value compared with other models in the same price range. Nissan also plans to develop and export ultra-low-priced Datsun cars from India to emerging markets in Southeast Asia as well as Central and South America
 During 2014, the company will launch Datsun vehicles in Indonesia, Russia, and South Africa, anticipating that sales of Datsun cars account for at least one-third to a maximum of 50% of all Nissan-produced cars sold in these markets.
 In addition, the Renault-Nissan Alliance will invest USD 2.5 billion in India over the next five years. The Chennai plant is expected to reach full operating capacity in 2014. India is expected to become one of the largest production site for Nissan to build cars for the local Indian market as well as for exporting to other emerging markets.


Related reports:
Nissan: Profits declined in North America and emerging markets (posted in February 2014)
Nissan: 80% of future vehicles will be based on new Module Strategy (posted in April 2014)
Delhi Auto Expo 2014 (part 1): Indian and Japanese OEM highlights (posted in March 2014)

This report is for paid members only. Remaining 4 chapters remaining.
Free membership registration allows you to read the rest of the article for a limited time.