Datsun is back from the grave for emerging markets

Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, announced in March last year to revive the iconic Datsun brand as an affordable, entry level automobile for emerging economies. Almost 16 months later, the  21^st Century Datsun has previewed the first car in its lineup through initial sketches.

The compact hatchback will formally debut at a world premiere event in New Delhi, India on July 15^th. Based on the sketches alone, it looks similar to the new Nissan March with multiple dynamic lines running around the profile.

The Datsun hatchback will be the first among a slew of products aimed at emerging markets like India, Indonesia, Russia from 2014 followed by South Africa later in the year. It is believed the models will be individually developed to cater to each market but the perceived concept will follow a common inspiration.

Datsun aims to provide potential customers an engaging driving experience, peace of mind ownership and accessibility at the right and transparent price with a competitive total cost of ownership. These values will be reinforced by Nissan Motor Company's experience as a global car manufacturer and technical expertise for local optimised solutions.

"Datsun will bring competitive products and services, modern and aspirational, while at the same time reassuring, providing superior value and specifically developed for the emerging and ambitious new Middle Class in high growth markets," said Vincent Cobee, Head of Datsun.