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Datsun today unveiled the first new Datsun car for the 21st century. The all-new Datsun GO will be on sale in India in early 2014.

The Datsun GO is the realization of the commitment made by Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. in March 2012 to return the Datsun brand to the marketplace. Datsun is the third brand for the Nissan Motor Company along with the company’s Nissan and Infiniti brands. Datsun will play an important role in the Nissan Power 88 mid-term business plan.

“This is an 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 – come one step closer to realizing the dream of purchasing a car,” said Carlos Ghosn, Nissan Motor President and CEO, when unveiling the car.

The five-door, front-wheel drive hatchback will come with a 1.2-liter engine paired with a five-speed manual transmission that offers optimal response time and agility in congested traffic.

With comparatively compact body dimensions (width – 1635mm; height – 1485mm; length– 3785mm), the car is spacious inside thanks to a wide stance and large wheelbase (2450mm), and offers ample headroom and an expanded front seating configuration. It will be a reliable partner for families, providing comfort to five occupants and agility in congested traffic.

For those customers never wanting to part with their favorite music and pictures Datsun GO will offer a very practical solution – Mobile Docking Station to connect with their smartphones.

Datsun GO is expected to be “a category up” in its price range, attractively priced below INR 400,000.

This all-new car has been built to meet the needs of recent rising group of optimistic customers in high-growth markets who seek better value propositions. These are people who want transportation that supports their everyday needs, but that also fulfills their dreams and ambitions for a better tomorrow. They are literally “on the move.” They want to GO further, so the name of the car reflects this aspiration.

The name of the new car is inspired by the first Datsun, the DAT-GO, launched almost a century ago in Japan. Back then the cars brought mobility to people who had never dreamed of car ownership before. The reignited Datsun brand and the Datsun GO will bring a similar combination of aspiration and trustworthiness.

Datsun GO is high quality, stylish and modern, delivering an engaging driving experience. The overall Datsun customer offer will include a worry-free ownership experience, competitive total cost, accessible services, with transparent pricing, and dealership proximity.

“When a customer buys his first new car in countries like India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa, first he dreams about it. To realize the dream, customers need to have access, feel a sense of belonging towards the Brand. Also, as this purchase will represent a significant part of their disposal income, it is important for them to have full trust in the brand and the product. So Dream, Access and Trust are key values for which the Datsun brand stands now,” said Vincent Cobee, who leads Datsun.

Datsun models will be individually developed for different markets, but the concept will follow a common inspiration. Datsun GO will be the first of several Datsun models that will be launched later in 2014 in Indonesia, Russia and South Africa.

While Nissan Motor’s Global design center in Japan was responsible for the Datsun GO styling, R&D and engineering development for the project were entrusted to local engineering resources and suppliers to ensure the product would suit local market conditions, preferences, tastes and needs, and would be accessible in terms of price and supply. The project development was of course backed by the full assurance of the global Japanese car manufacturer’s accumulated expertise and quality assurance.

Datsun GO will be produced at one of the newest Renault-Nissan Alliance factories at Oragadam, in Chennai.

More information will be available closer to the start of sales.

About Datsun
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. announced the return of the Datsun brand, Nissan’s third global brand, alongside Nissan and Infiniti, in March 2012. Datsun will provide a sustainable motoring experience to optimistic up-and-coming customers in high-growth markets. Datsun represents 80 years of accumulated Japanese car-making expertise and is an important part of Nissan’s DNA. Datsun vehicles will start sales in India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa from 2014.

Datsun History
Datsun originated in Japan as DAT-GO (the DAT-car) almost a century ago in 1914. The word DAT means ‘lightning-fast’ in Japanese but is also a reference to the first letters of family names of the three financiers who supported the business at the time: Den, Aoyama and Takeuchi. Using the same logic, it was promoted as Durable, Attractive and Trustworthy, or DAT for short.

In 1933, Nissan’s founding father Yoshisuke Aikawa took over the business with a vision of “mobility for all”. The introduction of a light-weight, economical yet resilient car to meet the aspirations of young Japanese people in the early 1930s was named the ‘son of DAT’ – Datson – which later changed to Datsun. Local engineering and mass-production made the founder’s dream a reality.

Nissan Motor Company CEO Carlos Ghosn was on site for the launch of Datsun brand at the Kindom of Dreams in Delhi.

The Global Media Center asked him about his expectations for the company’s returning marque.

Q1: Media Center: What is the new Datsun brand going to bring to the world?

Nissan Motor Company CEO, Carlos Ghosn: A lot of new cars. Cars for people who are accessing the car market for the first time in their lives, of which there are many in the high-growth market. People are looking for reliability, looking for affordability and particularly, some basic functionalities in their car.

Datsun has done this for so many years. We’re are bringing it back and giving it a modern shape, with modern technology and we think it’s particularly aimed at the high-growth market, and addressing segments where today Nissan product has no offer.

So, Datsun is a complementary offer to Nissan and particularly in addressing younger consumers, rising consumers, consumers who are accessing the car market for the first time.

Q2: Media Center: What necessary to succeed with the new brand like Datsun?

Ghosn: The first condition is that the car has to be modern. I don’t think people accept cars that are 20- or 25-years old any more, old platforms or cars that have been tuned a little bit here and there. It doesn’t work anymore.

They want fresh and new technology, they want good platforms and they want some basic choices. They want the car that has everything you need, nothing more and certainly nothing less.

[Datsun must be] extremely competitive on pricing, nothing should be put in the car that consumers are not ready to pay for.

So the car is going to be attractive and t’s also going to be of great value. There’s going to be technology, there’s going to be functionality and the price is going to make it extremely attractive.

It’s also going to be good-looking, with some basic functionality. In the case of this particular car, which is the first Datsun, the roominess is the best of its class and the fuel efficiency is the best of its class.

It’s going to be at very attractive price for India, below 400,000 rupees, which corresponds to a little bit less than $6,500 and makes it very attractive.

Media Center: This is going to be the third brand for Nissan Motor Company, alongside the Nissan brand and Infiniti. What does Datsun bring?

Ghosn: Datsun will be introduced later in Indonesia, Russia and South Africa

It’s a complement to the Nissan brand. While Infiniti was a complement to the Nissan brand in the premium segment, Datsun is a complement in this particular segment of the high-growth market, where we have no offer.

There is no overlap, or very little overlap, between the brands. It allows us to have very strong brand attributes without over-extending these attributes where they don’t belong.