Datsun brand's world premier to happen in India this July
Nissan seems to be getting aggressive with its proceedings in the Indian auto industry, as the company is aiming to launch several new products. We reported earlier that the Japanese auto giant is planning to bring back Datsun brand in developing nations like India, Russia, Indonesia and South Africa. According to the story published on Autocar, Nissan will premier Datsun brand nameplate at the Kingdom of Dreams in New Delhi on July 15. It is also expected that Nissan-Renault global CEO, Carlos Ghosn, will unveil the first Datsun Model, which will be a five-door hatch. The new small car is expected to be priced under Rs. 4 lakh.
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As per Nissan's global strategy, the company aims to capture 10 per cent of the Indian market by 2015-16, and Nissan is claiming this on the basis of Datsun brand. It expects to sell around 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh Datsun cars in India every year. We all know that to get success in India, a carmaker needs to have a small car range to offer buyers + good after sales service. The Japanese carmaker with Datsun budget cars aims to target middle-class population of India. Vincent Cobee, corporate vice president, Datsun Business Unit said that, "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.”
Earlier we reported that the company will introduce the Dastun in the Russian market on the Lada platform, however for India, the company will share it on the 'V' platform. Datsun will launch three products, first will be a hatchback, then a sedan and third will be an SUV. The first model for India will be a five-door hatch, codenamed as K2. The K2 will be powered by the same 1.2 litre, 3-cylinder petrol engine, which also powers the Micra hatch. For instance, there is no possibility of diesel engine, if the company goes for diesel models then it would get a 1.5-litre K9K diesel engine. According to the Datsun team, the performance of the five-door hatch will be better than the competition, the fuel economy will match the best in-class.
The exact launch date of the Datsun hatch in India is yet under covers, but we expect it to be launched by the 2nd quarter of 2014. It is likely to be priced around Rs. 3 lakh, and will compete against Hyundai EON, Chevrolet Spark, Maruti ALto and others.
Source- Autocar India
