The offer warrants participation for those who shop for Rs. 6000 at a Max store and partake in a ‘slogan contest’ to stand a chance to win a Datsun Go from Nissan. The brand has offers on Datsun GO to the tune of Rs 38000 (exchange benefit of upto Rs 20,000 + insurance support of Rs 4,000 + free extended warranty worth Rs 4,000 + Additional discount of Rs 10,000 on on Datsun Go D, D1 & A variants) until October 31st 2014.
While Datsun Go has been positioned for Risers and aims at aspirational values, these last few months have not quite been positive. Nissan and Datsun now operate through shared dealerships in India, and dedicated dealerships are planned within overall structure of network expansion.
Datsun did garner positive initial response reflected positively in overall Nissan Group India sales. However, the initial sales peak hasn’t been quite as sharp through Q3 2014. Group sales does remain higher than the previous year.
Low sales in India has not acted as a deterrent for Datsun global plans, and followed by market launch in India, Indonesia, and Russia with varied products, Datsun is now in South Africa. With made in India Datsun Go small cars being South Africa’s first launch, Datsun can expect some positivity from its exports henceforth.
Nissan in India has plans to reach 10% market share in India in 2016 on the back of 10 new launches as announced earlier in 2014. If Datsun is to contribute largely to this forecast, it would be necessary to work towards sales increase. At present the no frills, low cost small car hasn’t yet struck a chord with Indian buyers in the larger sense of popularity. Most sales thus far is expected to have come from east Delhi, which was identified as a key sales market for Datsun at the time of Go launch.
Success of a small car in India has been anything but predictable, especially if its cost efficient. A low entry price point hasn’t always been rewarding. While Maruti Suzuki Alto has gained favour, Tata Nano initial sales didn’t live up to the hype though the car has survived, and continues to sell. Datsun as a brand is new in India and to its targeted risers and buyers, with awareness efforts being spruced. Datsun Go+ MPV is scheduled to be launched next in India.
