Reference Auto

Nissan, which is yet to become a major player in the car market of the country, could see its fortunes (read profit and market share) change for the better after it brings in the Datsun after three decades (the latest K2 model this time) into India as well as to upcoming markets like Russia, Indonesia and South Africa.

The first Datsun hatchback is expected to hit Indian roads in mid-2014 with a base price of Rs 3.2 lakh (approx) and the car would be sold through Nissan dealerships. The new car would have some mind blowing acceleration as well as fuel efficiency, according to the auto major.

The new Datsun brand would be showcased at the Kingdom of Dreams in New Delhi around mid-July. 

Global CEO of Renault-Nissan Carlos Ghosn is likely to unveil the first Datsun model, which will be a five-door hatchback in the sub Rs 4-lakh category and vie with the likes of Chevrolet Spark, Maruti Suzuki Alto and Hyundai Eon, among others. 

The car, called K2 as of now, comes with the same 1.2-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine (XH5) from the Micra. In the Micra, this engine develops 75 bhp but this could be a tad less in the K2, which is set to be tuned for better efficiency.

This is a big step (bringing in a compact car) by Nissan and entry into the small and compact hatchback market, which sees the highest sales in the auto sector, could turn out to be a game changer.

And, the fight would mainly be on the price front here. Budget cars with some features like body colour bumpers, power steering and, of course, air conditioner, are the basic requirements for buyers in the category. If these are met, then a car sells well. 

Nissan expects to sell around 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh Datsun cars in India annually by promoting the Datsun as affordable and feature-rich car.

Nissan feels that the Datsun brand – which has been targeted at the emerging middle class market of India, Russia and Indonesia – will play a key role in ‘Nissan Power 88’, where the auto company is aiming to jack up both profits and market share globally and an affordable car could provide a welcome relief.

But Nissan may take quite a while to make Datsun among the leaders in the compact car pack, where the Alto is miles ahead. Unless Nissan uses some earth shattering marketing strategy (like giving huge discounts), Datsun is unlikely to top the charts even in the medium term.

So, Nissan may see a big surge in profit and market share if it comes out with schemes like mega discounts for the Datsun K2, among others, and this may help in catapulting Nissan to the top three in the compact car segment.

So, the Nano will no more remain the cheapest car in India as Renault Nissan plans to revive the Datsun brand to give the Tatas (makers of the Nano) a run for their money, but will the new cheapest car bear the stigma which the Nano has been bearing in the country for all this while?

The Tata Nano has seen fluctuating fortunes where during a month sales went up to over 5,000 cars, whereas on the other hand, the figure once plunged to nearly 500 (after the series of fire incidents).

There have been murmurs that Japan’s Renault Nissan, in a tie-up with Bajaj Auto, is planning to launch ultra low-cost cars in the price range of Rs 1.25 lakh to 1.5 lakh (comparatively, the Nano’s price ranges from Rs 1.5 lakh to 2.2 lakh now).

In fact, this is the first time that Renault Nissan has unveiled it would make such low-cost cars. The new cheapest car will be from the recently-revived brand Datsun, the company unveiled.

Remember the once-popular Datsun brand?

Datsun was well-known for sports cars like the Fairlady roadsters and the Fairlady (240Z) coupes and was an iconic brand in the 1960s and 70s. Datsun was, however, discontinued in 1981. But Renault Nissan has decided to revive Datsun and make it a robust, affordable and a modern car brand.

Carlos Ghosn, chairman and CEO of Renault Nissan, had earlier said, “In markets such as India, Russia, Brazil and Indonesia, about 40-50 per cent of sales are in segments where Nissan doesn’t have presence. In those categories, Datsun will have a major role to play.”

On the other hand, the Tata Nano is the cheapest car in the highly price-sensitive Indian market. But the Nano is yet to be accepted as a full-fledged car in India. Whenever people have opted to buy a Nano they’ve been given peculiar suggestions like “why don’t you buy a motorcycle instead?” or “please don’t buy a Nano.”

The Tatas hoped to see sales surge, owing to it being the cheapest car. But even small car buyers saw their status plunge and didn’t really flock to buy the Nano. That’s why the Maruti Alto (priced above Rs 3 lakh) is still India’s most popular car rather than the Nano.

Renault Nissan and Bajaj Auto had inked a deal three years ago where Bajaj was to design, develop and make an ultra low-cost car to hit the roads in 2011. But the plan had been shelved.

At the Delhi Auto Expo in January this year, Bajaj had unveiled the RE60 low-cost vehicle which is expected to be launched soon (for a price of Rs 1.25 lakh). Renault Nissan said it hasn’t taken a decision on whether to go with the RE60 or not.

But Renault Nissan will have to find a way to shed the cheapest car brand tag with the Datsun otherwise it could fall in the Tata Nano trap (and not see good response), or may be, the Datsun could be priced at Rs 3 lakh so that it can vie with cars like the Alto, which could make Datsun a more popular brand.

Well, Maruti (Alto 800 and WagonR), Hyundai (Eon and Santro) and Chevrolet (Spark and Beat) have mega competition at hand with Nissan making a big splash in the Indian market with the roll out of its Datsun brand car the ‘Go’ for a price, which is below Rs 4 lakh, and the unique offerings, space along with the all-round features will definitely give the revived Datsun brand a leg up in the compact car segment.

An initial look at the Datsun Go would give the impression that it comes for a steal as the engine is a 1.2 litre one and the car looks good enough to be priced around the Rs 5 lakh-mark.

The Datsun Go’s engine produces 68 PS and 104 Nm. But in the Datsun Go, the company could detune the engine in order to give fuel economy a boost.

There is some great engineering in store. The Go can seat six people (unlike five persons in other sub-Rs 4 lakh hatchbacks) as the front bench seat could split in the middle with individual adjustability fore and aft giving the Go’s front seat a capacity for three.   

The Go will be propelled by the 1.2 litre petrol engine with a five-speed manual gearbox, which is present in Nissan’s Micra. With its all-round features, space and efficiency, the Go will surely create a jolt in the sub-Rs 4 lakh segment.

Nissan, which is reviving the age-old Datsun brand nearly 30 years after it went into oblivion with the Marque, revealed that the Go would be available from the beginning of next year.

“Today, we begin a new chapter in the history of our company. The Datsun brand is back. The car will go on sale early next year in India. It would then be sold in Indonesia, Russia and South Africa," Nissan Motor president and CEO Carlos Ghosn averred.

He said the launch of the Datsun brand is part of Nissan’s plans to ramp up sales from emerging markets such as India. “We have a market share of a measly 1.2 per cent in India. We are looking to scale that up to 10 per cent in five years and we believe that Datsun will give the required fillip to our sales,” Ghosn added.

The country’s car market had surpassed the three-million mark in 2011 and is set to touch four million by 2016. The Datsun Go will be ‘fully engineered’ in India.

So, with great looks, a powerful engine along with great features and fuel efficiency (as claimed by the company but with details yet to be provided), Datsun Go could trigger an intense competition in the compact hatchback segment.