What Does Datsun’s Future Look Like?
After the successful revival of Datsun in 2013, the carmaker’s budget offering for emerging markets has performed admirably accounting for approximately 1% of global sales. While it’s been particularly successful in South Africa, the future of Datsun seemed uncertain for a brief moment since Nissan announced a new four-year global restructuring plan.
With the restructuring plan, the Japanese carmaker confirmed that Datsun would be discontinued in Russia but did not confirm any of the longstanding rumours about discontinuing the budget brand in other parts of the world.
The Current State Of Datsun Affairs
Despite all the talks, it seems Datsun is here to stay and that the brand’s exit from Russia is due to struggling sales. At the same time, Nissan has not mentioned anything about the budget brand being discontinued in India from where South Africa imports the Datsun GO and GO+. Nissan SA spokesperson, Veralda Schmidt, said that Datsun will continue to be sold locally and that the Nissan network will provide after-sales services and warranty support to owners.
Datsun may be a small player in Nissan’s overall portfolio but it has achieved good sales in South Africa due to the economic climate. Indeed, it is one of the top-selling budget brands in the country selling 7,701 GO and larger GO+.
What Does Nissan’s New Mid Term Plan (MTP) Entail?
The MTP will see Datsun become even smaller but intending to improve efficiency as the company posted a $6.2bn annual net loss in 2020. The four-year plan includes the following:
- cutting global production by 20%
- shutting down a plant in Barcelona that employs 3,000 people
- reduce its vehicle line-up
In cooperation with its alliance partners, Renault and Mitsubishi Motors, they will be able to reduce costs by developing cars together. This is Nissan’s latest attempt to get back on track after experiencing low demand for its vehicles since the arrest of the former boss, Carlos Ghosn.
Nissan sold 4.9-million vehicles in 2019 last which is still 11% less than in 2018. The coronavirus pandemic also hasn’t helped as Nissan has now experienced its first annual loss in 11 years. Makoto Uchida, Nissan CEO, said he will make every effort to return Nissan to a growth path and that the company had learnt from its past mistakes of chasing global market share at all costs.
Datsun Improves Safety Features
It’s no secret that Datsun didn’t perform particularly well in crash tests but that hasn’t stopped the cash-strapped locals from buying a quality, budget car instead of opting for public transport. Since the launch, the Datsun range has grown and now includes the GO+ panel van and the seven-seater GO+ hatchback with improved safety features.
Considering the growing safety concerns, the GO recently updated its ABS brakes and added dual front airbags across the entire range. They’ve also improved the suspension and added insulation for better refinement. While it’s certainly a positive change in terms of driver safety, the price has increased with the cheapest GO now selling at around R169,800*.
Africa remains a vital market for the Nissan group of companies and they’ve confirmed that the global restructuring plan won’t affect the R3bn deal to build the next-generation Nissan Navara in South Africa. According to Veralda Schmidt, the Nissan plant in Rosslyn, Tshwane, resumed production on June 1st to deliver the first locally-produced Nissan Navara in 2021.
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* Pricing accurate as of 20 July based on the pricing at Group1 Datsun
Tags: Datsun
