Datsun: Return of an old friend

There are strong indications that the return to the market of Nissan Datsun will give impetus to Nissan’s passenger vehicle growth curve. This is going by the 2014 return of the legendary Datsun brand, which will allow Nissan to close a long-standing hole in its product portfolio, according to BusinessDay findings during a recent visit to the Rosslyn manufacturing plant in South Africa.

The country is one of the four initial markets for Datsun, which is targeted at the middle-class buyers in high-growth economies

The others are India, Russia and Indonesia. Eventually, the plan is to expand into other parts of Africa, as well as Southeast Asia, Latin America and Middle East, according to Vincent Cobee. The first Datsun to be sold in South Africa will be the 1200cc GO hatchback model, which will be launched in the second half of 2014.

According to Johan Kleynhans in a Financial Mail’s corporate report for Nissan SA, the marketing and sales director, by selling the new model for under R100,000, it will take Nissan SA back into the budget low-cost segment from which it has been absent for some years.

The company was one of the pioneers of this sector in the 1990s, when it built and marketed the little Fiat Uno. Today, the cheapest Nissan is the Micra, at more than R130,000. “Datsun will be our new attractive and economical first-car buyer’s brand,” says Kleynhans, adding that, there will eventually be a full production range of models.

Although, cautious of predicting likely sales of Datsun which will be imported from India, he said, “We hope to sell lots of units as we seek to fulfil dreams and ambitions of this optimistic customer in their first purchase of a new car. So we are hoping for significant volumes, which willmake it important tour dealer network,” says Kleynhans.

While he expects dealerships to appoint separate brand managers and provide stand alone Datsun showroom areas, however, he says it is important for the company and its dealers not to lose sight of the fact that Nissan remains the core SA brand. “Whatever we do for Datsun must not be at the expense of Nissan. We will make sure; there is no overlap of products between the two.” He maintained.

After years of being considered primarily a bakkie company, Nissan SA has made astrong comeback in the passenger market. The revival is led by crossover and sports utility vehicles like X-Trail, Qashqai and Juke, but cars like Micra, Livina, Sentra and Almera have also enjoyed a revival.

Specifically, Qashqai and Juke have brought in a lot of ‘conquest’ customers, people who did not consider Nissan before. Now the company’s other products must keep them in the brand. Not long ago, Nissan products covered barely SA’s light vehicle segments. Soon, it will be 80 percent. The all-electric Nissan Leaf will be part of the future growth, company official said.

It has been more than 30 years since the Datsun brand name was officially withdrawn from the rest of the world and replaced by Nissan. A whole generation of South Africans has grown up since then, meaning the name should be unfamiliar to millions of young potential car buyers.

Johan Kleynhans however said that market research shows that brand awareness never quite disappeared. To him, “We wanted to understand how people view the name. In our focus groups, almost everyone remembered seeing a Datsun car or pick-up (bakkie). There appear to be no negative connotations at all with the name.”

MIKE OCHONMA