Nissan To Shut Down ‘Datsun’ Brand Worldwide
Nissan Motor Co Ltd. is planning to shut down its low-cost Datsun brand worldwide as a part of its “performance recovery plan”. Though, it won’t happen anytime soon. The Japanese carmaker will pull the plug from the Datsun brand in a phased manner after the existing model lineup attain end of their lifecycle. The entire process might take around 3 years. Read – Datsun GO, GO+ With CVT Gearbox Launched
Datsun was introduced to serve emerging markets including India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa. In India, Nissan’s sub-brand re-entered in 2014 with the Datsun GO hatchback that failed to fulfill the carmaker’s expectations.
Soon after its launch, the Datsun GO was subjected to Global NCAP crash test and failed on critical safety count. The safety testing body had asked the Japanese carmaker to withdraw the small car from the Indian market. It not only affected the hatchback’s sales, but tarnished the brand’s image in the market as well.
The Datsun GO was followed by the GO+ MPV and Redi-GO hatchback. Both cars, unfortunately, failed to generate volume for the carmaker in India. The Japanese carmaker made multiple updates to its model lineup, but nothing worked in its favour. Therefore, Nissan has decided to phase out Datsun brand in India.
The sales stagnation in the US and Europe, recession in Asian countries and the impact of the Carlos Ghosn scandal are the major reasons behind the shutdown of Datsun brand in global markets.
The company needs to make investment for upgrading its aging product lineup, electrification and autonomous technology. That’s the reason why, the brand has decided to scrap unprofitable products and shut down some of its global assembly lines.
