Over the past few months, we’ve brought you several news stories covering the reintroduction by Nissan Motor Company of the Datsun brand. Most recently, we showed you design sketches of the new model from the relaunched nameplate. And now we can show you pictures of the real car.
The Datsun GO, as it will be called, will be launched in India today. The five-door, front-wheel-drive hatchback will be powered by a 1,2 litre engine paired with a five-speed manual transmission. Datsun GO is expected to be priced below Indian Rupees 400 000 (roughly R67 000).
The name of the new car is inspired by the first Datsun, the DAT-GO, launched almost a century ago in Japan.
“This is an historic day for Nissan Motor Company and for our customers and partners in some of the world’s fastest-growing markets. It’s also an exciting moment for many women and men here in India who – today – come one step closer to realising the dream of purchasing a car,” said Carlos Ghosn, Nissan Motor president and CEO, when unveiling the car.
With comparatively compact body dimensions (width – 1 635 mm; height – 1 485 mm; length– 3 785 mm). According to Nissan the car is spacious inside thanks to a wide stance and long wheelbase (2 450 mm), and offers ample headroom and an expanded front-seating configuration.
Instead of a complex audio system Datsun GO will offer a mobile docking station for owners to connect with their smartphones as a music source.
“When a customer buys his first new car in countries like India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa, first he dreams about it. To realise the dream, customers need to have access, feel a sense of belonging towards the brand. Also, as this purchase will represent a significant part of their disposal income, it is important for them to have full trust in the brand and the product. So Dream, Access and Trust are key values for which the Datsun brand stands now,” said Vincent Cobee, who leads Datsun.
Datsun models will be individually developed for different markets, but the concept will follow a common inspiration. Datsun GO will be the first of several Datsun models that will be launched later in 2014 in Indonesia, Russia and South Africa.
Datsun GO will be produced at one of the newest Renault-Nissan Alliance factories at Oragadam, in Chennai.
