Nissan to introduce 3 variants of its small car Datsun GO

Japanese auto-maker Nissan will introduce three variants of its latest hatchback 'Datsun GO' in India under the Rs 4 lakh price band, as the first car was rolled out from the assembly line of its manufacturing facility in Oragadam.

The entry-level car under the popular Datsun brand is aimed at the first-time car buyers.

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The company is reviving the Datsun brand after almost three decades and the car is expected to hit Indian roads next month.

The first car was launched by State Industries Minister P Thangamani in the presence of top officials from the company, including Nissan Motor Vice-Chairman Toshiyuki Shiga, Corporate Vice-President and Global Head-Datsun Vincent Cobee and Consul General of Japan Masanari Nakano.

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"We will introduce three variants of Datsun GO. The top variant will be under Rs 4 lakh (price bracket)...," Cobee told reporters after rolling out the first car from the assembly line of Oragadam plant.

Stating that the emergence of the middle class was one of the reasons for reviving the Datsun brand in India, Cobee said, "Datsun was actually developed in Japan. In the early 80s it was terminated. But we are launching it in India as the average transaction cost of middle class in India is $8,000."

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"One of the key angles for launch of Datsun GO is for long-term presence in India. I am quite optimistic that the product (Datsun) will be well received," he added.

"There will be no plan for exports of Datsun from India at this point of time. We will locally produce in Indonesia, Russia and South Africa," he responded to a query whether the company would look at shipping Datsun cars from India.

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Asked whether the existing joint venture plant was sufficient for manufacturing the Datsun brand cars in India, Cobee said, "We will be considering expansion plans may be after three years."

"Whether we may look for some space available in this plant itself or may be somewhere else...," he said.

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Earlier after the first car was formally rolled out from the assembly line, he said, "This moment is a four years of hard work. We will showcase various colours of Datsun at Auto Expo in New Delhi tomorrow. We will also show a glimpse of Datsun Concept car at the Auto Expo."

"This is a landmark day for all of us at Nissan Motor Corporation...," Shiga said.

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"This is only the beginning. Following the sales launch of Datsun Go in March, we plan to expand the product range. Datsun will account for 50 per cent of sales for Nissan Motor Corporation in India," Shiga said.

Thangamani congratulated Nissan for the launch of the car and said the government would extend all support to the auto-maker.

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The Oragadam plant, which is located around 50 kms from Chennai, is a joint venture between Nissan and France-based automaker Renault.

Both the companies have invested about Rs 4,400 crore (Rs 40 billion).

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The launch of Datsun comes at a time when Nissan Motor India has planned to introduce 10 new models in India by 2016.

The company is targeting to garner a 10 per cent market share in the automobile industry by 2016. It has also proposed to increase dealership networks to 300.

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Nissan Motor would sell the Datsun GO and other models from the Datsun range on its own in India and not through its country sales and service partner Hover Automotive.

Besides Datsun, Nissan Motor India currently retails hatchback Micra, sedan - Sunny, SUV Terrano, among others.