Last year, sales of the brand dropped by 90 percent.
Nearly three decades after the brand’s discontinuation, Nissan revived Datsun in March 2013. The brand was relaunched in March 2013 with budget products that were available for countries like India, Nepal, South Africa and Russia. In 2019, Nissan said that Datsun would stop production in Russia, Indonesia and now it is doing the same in another market.
Last week, Nissan India announced Datsun would no longer manufacture cars in India. Japanese automaker Nissan India wants to redirect money from its budget brand to fund its future electrification strategy. According to Asia Nikkei reports, Datsun’s sales have declined in recent years. In 2021, there were only 6,400 deliveries, down more than 90 percent from 87.300 in 2016. India saw 2017 as Datsun’s best year, with the brand accounting to 75 percent of Nissan’s total sales. This was all due to the Redi-Go model.
Official announcement from Nissan reads: “Production of Redi Go Datsun Redi has ceased at Chennai Plant.” The model’s sales will continue. We are able to assure all Datsun owners, past and future, that customer satisfaction is our top priority. We will continue to offer the best after-sales service, parts availability, warranty support, and warranty support through our national dealer network.”India was among the launch markets when the Datsun brand was reintroduced in 2013. It was home to the Go, the first model that was released. However, it didn’t sell well. The Go+ was next, but it wasn’t very popular. Next came the Redi-Go which proved to be a strong selling model. In Russia, Datsun also had the On-Do which was a slightly redesigned and rebadged Lada Granta sedan. This model was discontinued in 2020.
Although there is no information about Datsun’s South African operations, the brand’s local website still lists Go and Go+ cars as being available in the country. The Nissan dealers in India will sell the Datsun cars left over with substantial discounts.