India to be base for cheaper Nissan brands

The new budget brand the Japan-headquartered Nissan Motor Company is introducing in India to rival Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai will make the country its base for developing all its future range.

Nissan will revive the Datsun brand after a gap of 31 years, when it unveils a compact hatchback during the middle of this month in India. Positioned below the Nissan brand, Datsun-based models will be initially priced below Rs 4 lakh to minimise cannibalisation with Nissan models.

For export
Further, all of Nissan’s future range of Datsun cars will be designed and developed in India at its technical centre based in Chennai. The models will not only be sold in India but will be exported to emerging markets of a similar nature. “The technical centre in Chennai is one of the biggest in India. The range of activities they do presently and those planned for the future will enable them to develop India as the base for Datsun models for the future. While Nissan models for India will continue to be majorly developed in Japan, Datsun will be developed completely in India,” said a senior executive at Nissan Motor India.

The Renault Nissan Technology and Business Centre India presently has a headcount of almost 4,000 employees.

The crew is specialised in new product development and modification to international models to suit the Indian buyer’s needs.