After phasing out the Datsun brand globally, Nissan India now has stopped production and pulled the plug on Datsun in India. Nissan revived the Datsun brand for emerging markets like Indonesia, Russia and India. However, in all the three countries, they did not get the response they were hoping for. Following this, Nissan stopped production in Russia and Indonesia in early 2020.
Nissan launched the brand in India, targeting the entry-level market. Nissan globally had three brands, including the Datsun. The company positioned the Datsun brand to cater to the entry-level segment. The Nissan brand would be in the middle and at the top, Nissan’s luxury brand, Infiniti. In 2013, Datsun introduced the Go and Go+ for the Indian market.
The Go went on sale in early 2014, with the biggest highlight being the car’s sticker price. The Go used to offer a more spacious cabin and was larger than other cars in the segment. The targeted audience was first-time car buyers. The following product from Datsun was the Go+ compact MPV. The Go+ arrived in India in early 2015. On paper, the Go+ used to offer three rows of seats.
However, it was still a stretched Go hatchback and a sub-4-metre car. The sub-4-metre length gave the car lower tax benefits. The public soon found out that the third row of seats was unusable. In addition to this, the lack of essential features and signs of cost-cutting made people steer away from it.
In 2018, both models got a significant facelift. The facelift included new exterior design changes and the addition of features to the interiors. In 2019, the brand also added a CVT automatic gearbox. This inclusion made the pair the most affordable models in the country to get a CVT gearbox.
Datsun’s last model in the country was the Redigo, launched in 2016. The model was a sister model to the Renault Kwid and featured edgy styling. The positioning of the new model was below the Go hatchback. The sales never took off despite the attractive price tag and edgy styling. The Renault Kwid, the sister model, sold three times more in comparison. The company did update the car with an AMT gearbox and a larger engine along with a facelift in 2020. The facelift also complied with the BS6 emission norms. However, the sales did not take off even with the inclusion of an AMT, a larger engine, and more features.
Nissan announced that the existing customers would get continued support from the brand. The aftersale support will include servicing, aftermarket parts and warranty services. The current Datsun customers will be able to service their cars at all the Nissan service touchpoints spread across the country.
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