Nissan’s low cost brand, Datsun is in resurrection stage yet as the company eyes expanding its presence in various automotive markets. It made entry in India with its first product GO hatchback and is gearing to launch compact MPV GO+ in the domestic market soon. Apart from India, Datsun also showed a glimpse of its sedan built for the Russian market a few months back. If media reports are to be believed, Datsun has South Africa on its radar, the auto maker is preparing to launch GO hatchback in SA. The launch is expected to take place in SA by year end. With India being the production hub, GO will be exported to SA soon. Before commencing export of GO, Datsun is looking to open a thick network of 30 showrooms of the brand in the country.
The hatchback could be priced under R 100,000 equivalent to Rs 5.5 lakh in South Africa. With South Africa launch, GO will be available for sale in four markets globally including India, Indonesia and Russia. In India, response for the hatchback has been impressive in the first few months. Datsun GO turned out to be a major contributor in Nissan India’s monthly sales with 2,072 units sold in March, 2691 units sold in April and 1,992 units sold in May 2014 respectively.
