Datsun to launch a compact sedan in Russia

Nissan re-invented its low-cost car manufacturing brand Datsun to increase its share in the developing nations, including India, Indonesia, South Africa and Russia. The company already unveiled the Go hatchback in India and Go+ MPV for Indonesian buyers, which will also make its way to the Indian car market in 2014. Moreover, the company will export the Made-in India Go hatchback to South Africa.

It seems like Datsun will introduce a couple of more products, which we expect to be a compact sedan and a compact SUV, to complete its lineup, which specially targets the young buyers. Interestingly, the low cost brand will develop vehicles by adopting a very different approach of using local product assembly with high level of localization.

Recently, Datsun compact sedan has been spotted during its test rounds in Russia, which looks like a re-engineered Lada Granta sedan. The video of the camouflaged Granta-based Datsun caught in the camera during its testing in Togliatti. The front facade resembles the Go, however the side profile seems like an extended Granta.

A couple of months, a set of patent images of what could be the Datsun's compact sedan were leaked. The patent also shows the vehicle is based on the Lada Granta sedan and features some changes to make it a look different. Beside the front facade, the C-Pillar design of the sedan is another thing which differentiate it with Granta.

The low cost Datsun sedan is expected to be unveiled in Russia in 2014 and will be locally developed to keep costs down. It is yet to be known whether the compact sedan will make its way to other markets including India or not.