Datsun vehicles and Tata Nano have many similarities. Both have been focused on the plenty who would improve from two-wheelers to 4. Both have been amongst India’s most reasonably priced vehicles. Both have been perceived as low cost, not aspirational. Both have been launched with fanfare and each have been discontinued.
What is Datsun?
Datsun, whose authentic manufacturing run started in 1931, is a model owned by Nissan. Until 1986, solely automobiles exported exterior Japan by Nissan have been recognized as Datsun. In 1986, Nissan phased out the model. In 2013, Nissan revived it. Because Datsun was focused on the aspirational center courses of creating nations, India was chosen because the launchpad, the primary automotive being the Go, which couldn’t promote a lot. Then it launched the Go+, which too failed. The third providing was the Redi-Go.
Now, sadly, Datsun is Redi to Go from India!
March 2014 (Go)
The Go was launched in March 2014 at Rs 3.12 lakh (ex-showroom). An different to Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 (Rs 3.19 lakh) and Hyundai Eon (Rs 2.83 lakh), the Go was greater and got here throughout as a whole lot of automotive for little cash. Styling-wise it wasn’t thrilling, however the Go (3,785 mm in size and 1,635 mm in width) was greater than the Alto K10 (3,620 by 1,475 mm) and the Eon (3,495 by 1,550 mm).Its cabin was useful however regarded archaic. For instance, the entrance seat was a bench (from Hindustan Ambassador period) and rear seatbelts didn’t have an inertia reel however have been fastened ones and needed to be adjusted by completely different customers. It shared engine with the Micra (the noisy 1.2-litre, three-cylinder, petrol engine, however gas environment friendly at 20.6 km/litre).
March 2016 (Go+)
As the Go was looking for its ft within the Indian market, in March 2016 Datsun launched the Go+, priced Rs 3.79 lakh. A seven-seat, sub-4 metre automotive, it was an prolonged model of the Go—a hatch with an additional thatch. It had a 3rd row, with two additional seats, however was unsafe for occupants. Because Datsun needed to meet seatbelt laws, it put in a two-point seatbelt (such as you get on plane seats), as an alternative of the three-point one for vehicles. A two-point seatbelt diminished prices, as a result of a three-point seatbelt would have meant re-engineering rear pillars or seat backs, however greater than that it ‘reduced’ the corporate’s Japanese picture of a good-quality carmaker.
Japanese prowess
Datsun vehicles had some positives. While the Go and the Go+ didn’t get passive security options corresponding to airbags, ABS and a collapsible steering column, not whilst an possibility, these had a whole lot of lively security options, which may help keep away from accidents within the first place—corresponding to headlights offering higher illumination in width and depth at night time in comparison with many different vehicles, higher brakes thus diminished braking distance, higher visibility throughout that may assist forestall accidents, amongst others.
June 2016 (Redi-Go)
When these two vehicles did not generate sufficient purchaser curiosity, Datsun introduced its finest to India, the Redi-Go (a fusion of a compact crossover automotive with an city hatchback).Datsun referred to as it the Yukan design (roughly translated in Japanese as courageous and daring). It had best-in-class floor clearance of 185 mm, was probably the most spacious automotive in its phase—extra headroom and legroom than that within the Alto, Eon and Renault Kwid (the most recent child on the block), and the rear legroom was much more than within the Swift Dzire, a sedan. It additionally had a contemporary dashboard, with functionalities corresponding to a digital tachometer and a drive pc that confirmed you instantaneous and common fuel-efficiency, distance to empty, gas remaining, and gear-shift indicator. The top-end variant acquired an audio system with radio, CD, MP3, USB, Aux-in, and entrance energy home windows. It was priced additionally proper (simply Rs 2.38 lakh), shared engine with the Kwid (799cc) and had a claimed gas effectivity of superb 25.17 km/litre. Essentially, all the pieces that was lacking within the Go and the Go+ discovered its manner into the Redi-Go. Datsun was clearly extra Redi this time round, however quickly discovered it had nowhere to Go. At that point, in response to gross sales knowledge by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), India used to have 1.3 million two-wheeler consumers, and even when Datsun was in a position to convert a fraction of them to four-wheelers, its job would have been completed. But that was to not be.
Datsun gross sales shops
Datsun was promoting vehicles from its unique 1S shops (by 2016, it had 51 such shops). It additionally offered vehicles by way of Nissan’s 215 dealerships in 165 cities. It was creating its presence in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. But the hit the model worth took with the Go and the Go+ couldn’t be revived by the Redi-Go. In 2016, Guillaume Sicard, the president of Nissan India who additionally led enterprise improvement at Datsun, advised FE that to reach India it’s essential to win shopper confidence (https://bit.ly/3v28I6H). “A prospective customer may like the design, but if she hasn’t heard about the brand, why will she buy it?” he stated. The Datsun model, he admitted on the time, “has not been established and the level of awareness is still not where we want it to be. ”Harish Bijoor, model skilled and founding father of Harish Bijoor Consults, stated that Nissan began fairly properly in India, however its choices (particularly below the Datsun model) acquired categorised right into a cheaper price:high quality fairness vary. “That can be deadly in the medium term,” he stated. “Automotive is a funny market. Everyone wants the best quality and the best image in their garage. Price is, however, a secret they want to keep. Price sets image. And image sets franchise.”
The 2017 rise
With the ‘right’ product, the Redi-Go, gross sales of Datsun vehicles grew. In November 2017, it offered its 100,000th automotive in India, and by December 2017 Datsun was accounting for 75% of whole gross sales for the Nissan model in India (as per SIAM gross sales knowledge). But Datsun didn’t have a product after the Redi-Go.
Global turmoil
Auto analysts FE talked to stated that the Carlos Ghosn scandal in November 2018 (when he, as chairman of Nissan, was arrested in Japan on allegations of underreporting his wage and misuse of firm property) was the ultimate nail within the coffin for Datsun. Post that arrest, Nissan went by way of a restructuring and the corporate determined to deal with one model (Nissan) and step by step part out the opposite. Datsun was first phased out from Russia and Indonesia in 2020, and from India now (these are the one three markets the place Datsun was being manufactured). Exit from India additionally implies demise of Datsun globally.
Existing prospects
Nissan has assured its present Datsun prospects of continued assist with service, aftermarket components and guarantee providers. In an announcement, it stated, “We can reassure all existing and future Datsun owners that customer satisfaction remains our priority, and we will continue to provide the highest levels of aftersales service, parts availability and warranty support from our national dealership network.”
Source: www.financialexpress.com”