The first car, the Datsun Go hatchback, will cost under Rs 4-lakh. Bookings of this car are now being accepted for a sum of Rs 11,000 at authorized dealerships. The Datsun Go is a city car that’s around the same size as a Volkswagen Up!. It will be powered by a 1.2-litre petrol engine with 74 bhp and 80 lb /ft of torque. The biggest competitors for this car are the Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 and the Hyundai Eon. The car will be targeted at non-metro and rural areas “We believe 65% of Datsun sales would come from nonmetro rural or semi-urban centres. That is where the products would be attractive,” said Ajay Raghuvanshi, vice-president business management, Nissan Motor India.
The second car, the Datsun Go+, which was shown at 2014 Delhi Auto Expo, is a 5+2 MPV that has been developed for families. It shares the same interior as the smaller Go, but it is a much larger car. Despite this, it is expected to have the same 1.2-litre engine and 5-speed manual gearbox. “Initially the cars would be sold through Nissan dealerships.”
For Nissan and the Datsun brand, cornering ten percent of the Indian car market would be a huge achievement. Bristol Street Motors MOT Gloucester believe that that they can do it, however marketing the Go and Go+ to the right audience is key. The Indian car market is awash with cheap cars from eastern manufacturers. The reason for this is these cars are extremely reliable and cheap to fix. They play to those on a lower income, and the cars come with tempting finance packages which ensure a newer car every three years.
Of course, the Go and Go+ won’t be ideal for everybody. And that’s where the Nissan brand comes in.
The used Nissan Qashqai from Bristol Street Motors (go to) is a clear example. This car is too big for the Indian market, but it’s ideal in the UK, with good road presence and a solid range of engines available.
Nissan have a wider range of cars available than Datsun in India. Datsun will target areas with little transport infrastructure where Nissan does not dominate, whilst Nissan will continue to target cities and more built up areas.
Unlike the Datsun of old, the latest cars will be built for reliability. They will have to be ready for unpopulated areas of India, where there are no good roads or no roads at all. As such, the Go and Go+ will need to be built to last. One due for release next month, and the other by 2016, the two new Datsun cars will be as cost-effective for Indian motorists as possible.
