Nissan has no new products to offer in India this year. They are focusing more on their network expansion and brand awareness in 2015. Next launch by Nissan is the Datsun Redi-GO in 2016.
Last year Nissan introduced the Datsun brand in India, which made its global comeback after three decades of lull. Betting big on the Indian market for more volumes and better market share, they launched the GO hatchback and GO+ mini MPV. Initially their market response wasn’t as exciting as they expected because of the unfamiliar badge but recently the vehicles have started gathering pace in terms of volumes. Until the launch of Datsun in India, Nissan had a mere one percent of market share but now it has increased to 3 percent.
The Datsun GO and GO+ gave combined sales of 17,000 units in the first year of the brand’s introduction. Currently Nissan has 21 showrooms exclusively for Datsun cars and aims to set-up a total of 60 showrooms in small towns by 2016. Nissan currently doesn’t have anything new to offer in the near future. In fact, the Japanese automaker has no plans to launch any car in 2015 (only vehicle launched was the GO+). Instead, the automaker is on an expansion spree this year with around 300 dealerships planned by 2016 for better reach across the country.
Also, Nissan is currently focusing on building their brand identity in India by holding various activities like Nissan Carnival, where they celebrated 10 years of operations in India. They also celebrated Datsun brand’s first anniversary in India with underprivileged children at 100 different locations across the country. Nissan also held a ‘Datsun Drive-On’ cavalcade in Delhi that saw over 100 owners creating a convoy of Datsun GO and GO+ cars.
The next launch by Nissan is most probably the Datsun Redi-GO that will go on sale early next year. The Redi-GO will be positioned below the GO hatchback as an entry-level car to compete with the Tata Nano and Maruti Alto. The concept was showcased at the 2014 Auto Expo, which hinted about its compact dimensions and modern styling. If priced competitively, the Redi-GO can further increase the volumes from the Datsun brand, thereby increasing the market share of Nissan.
