Datsun Go Unveiled as Iconic Brand Relaunched in New Delhi

Today marked the unveiling of the first Datsun car in over 3 decades. The new Datsun ‘Go’ is a contemporary 5-door hatchback, marking the global return of the iconic Datsun brand. The Go will be launched in India early next year, and will also go on sale in South Africa a little later. The Datsun Go is expected to be priced under Rs. 4 lakhs, and some rumours suggest that the base model could be near the 3 lakh mark as well.

Nissan Motor Company’s third brand, Datsun, was discontinued in 1986 and the new Datsun Go pays homage to the first model by the marque, called the DAT-GO. The other two marques under Nissan Motor Company ownership are obviously, Nissan and Infiniti. The Go will be powered by the same 1.2-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine from the Nissan Micra, producing 76PS and 104Nm of torque.

This is a historic day for Nissan Motor Company and for our customers and partners in some of the world’s fastest-growing markets. It’s also an exciting moment for many women and men here in India who today comes one step closer to realizing the dream of purchasing a car.

– Carlos Ghosn, President and CEO, Nissan Motor Company

Datsun is likely to share the same dealer network as Nissan but will have its own distinct showroom area built to Datsun brand guidelines. Maruti has about 1,200 retail stores in India, while Hyundai operates a network of more than 350 stores. Nissan, by contrast, has only about 100 dealers, though it says it plans to triple the number of its stores to 300 by March 2017.

Nissan has great ambitions regarding the Indian passenger car market, aiming to own 10 percent of the market share by 2016-17. The small but equally ambitious Go is expected to play a pivotal role in Nissan’s and Datsun’s future, especially in India. Watch this space for more updates on the Datsun Go!