

Datsun’s positioning in Nissan’s global line-up was to serve entry-level markets, with Nissan in the middle and Infiniti, Nissan’s luxury brand, at the top. However, as we know now, none of that materialised. Nissan revived the Datsun brand in 2013 – 32 years after it was put to rest for the first time – with much enthusiasm as it hoped to serve emerging markets like India, Indonesia and Russia, with small, inexpensive cars.

In its statement, Nissan said, “We can reassure all existing and future Datsun owners that customer satisfaction remains our priority, and we will continue to provide the highest levels of aftersales service, parts availability and warranty support from our national dealership network.” Datsun: a brief overview in India Given that Nissan has a strong network across the country, customers should be able to access service touchpoints easily. Nissan has assured its existing Datsun customers of continued support with service, aftermarket parts and warranty services. What does this mean to existing Datsun customers? In the 12-month period between January-December 2021, Datsun sold a mere 4,296 units in the Indian market, which comprised a market share of just 0.09 percent at the time. Production of the Datsun Redigo has ceased at the Chennai plant.” In an official statement, the company said, “As part of Nissan’s global transformation strategy, the company is focusing on core models and segments that bring the most benefit to customers, dealer partners and the business. While production of the Go and Go+ models had already ceased a while ago, Nissan has now confirmed to Autocar India that the Redigo too has bowed out of production. Operations in Russia and Indonesia were discontinued in 2020.Nissan also exported made-in-India Datsun models to South Africa.Datsun had three models on sale in India – Go, Go+ and Redigo.Back in October 2019, we had reported that Nissan was planning to phase out the Datsun brand globally, and following the discontinuation of the brand’s operations in Russia and Indonesia, Datsun's India operations have now ended after barely a nine-year stint. Nissan has finally pulled the plug on the Datsun brand in India.
