Nissan Will Pull Datsun Out Of Russia And Indonesia, But India Operations Will Continue

• Production of Datsun models is about to begin in Pakistan.
• Datsun accounts for 1 per cent of Nissan’s global sales.
• A new model is reportedly planned for India.
• Datsun will stop selling cars in Russia, Indonesia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Lebanon.

We finally have a word on the fate of the Datsun brand. Nissan has been struggling to regain lost ground after the Carlos Ghosn scandal. As the company restructures its top brass, it plans to terminate many of Ghosn’s policies and practices. One major change will be with  Datsun -- a brand that was resurrected to sell inexpensive small cars in emerging markets. According to a new media report, Nissan will end Datsun’s operations in Russia and Indonesia from next year. The 6-year-old brand will continue to produce cars for India and for export to South Africa. 

Our source also reports that Datsun sales are on a decline globally. The brand sold 10 per cent fewer cars in 2018 than in 2017. Only 1 per cent of Nissan’s worldwide sales are Datsuns. MarkLines says that only 72,000 Datsuns were sold in the world in 2018. 20,000 of these were in Russia. Cars made here were sold in the domestic market, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Lebanon. Given the 20 per cent fall over 2017 sales and 40 per cent over 2015, AvtoVAZ will end production of Datsuns in 2020.  

Meanwhile, Datsun is expected to continue making cars in India. While sales numbers in the Indian market are low, Renault-Nissan’s Oragadam, Chennai plant is a production hub. Cars made here are exported to other countries such as South Africa, where Datsun sales volumes are better than India. A new model is reported to be in the works for our country. In addition, production of Datsuns will soon commence in Pakistan. 

Ghosn was accused of financial misconduct and removed from the Board of Directors earlier this year. Makoto Uchida, Nissan’s Head of China Operations, took over as Nissan’s Chief Executive Officer on November 29. The company had been facing low profits for 11 years due to several of Ghosn’s practices. Now, Nissan will focus on American and Chinese markets for its recovery. Unprofitable model lines, sub-brands, and accounts with leasing companies face close scrutiny under the new leadership. To know more about Ghosn's policies, read our story here. 

Nissan’s connection with the Datsun brand is complex. In some markets, the latter has cannibalised the former’s sales. The goal here seemed to be the expansion of market reach. But what will become of Datsun when the time comes to switch to BS6 or meet stricter crash regulations? Nissan itself lags behind with ageing model lines and BS4 engines. For now, we will keep our fingers crossed and hope Nissan stays in India. 

Source: Indian Autos Blog, Nikkei Asian Review