Datsun is set to make a come back in 2014 as a low cost sub-brand of Nissan. The Japanese manufacturer intends to sell the car in emerging markets such as the BRICS nations, which let’s not forget includes South Africa, as well as Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.
Nissan chose India to unveiled what will be the sub-brand’s comeback kid, the Datsun Go. The Go will be built at the Nissan-Renault production plant near Chennai, India, which has an annual production capacity of 400 000 vehicles.
Nissan say the Go will be priced at INR400 000 or R67 000, but expect import duties and freight costs to drive this figure a little higher when the car eventually lands in South Africa. An executive vice president at Nissan, Trevor Mann, has however said that, “The price could go even lower (than the price of the Go)”, but failed to elaborate.
Derived from the Nissan Micra, the five-door Datsun Go will be powered by a 1.2-litre petrol engine mated with a 5-speed manual transmission. Seating is for five adults and the front seat is a bench item, something unheard of in today’s passenger vehicle market. With a front wheel-drive layout and no need for a transmission tunnel, the engineers decided to place the gear lever on the dashboard and utilise the free space for seating.
Nissan South Africa says it will announce more details about a South African debut and pricing closer to the car’s launch.
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