The Japanese auto company is aiming to sell six different Datsun models priced from $3,000 to $5,000 to developing nations like Indonesia and Russia by 2014 at the earliest. Not many companies would be able to complete with this kind of deal if Nissan is able to go through with their plan.
The new Datsun will appeal to buyers in developing countries because not only will the car look modern and brand new, it will be at an affordable price.
To cut production costs for the vehicles, the cars will use parts almost exclusively from the country where the car is being produced.
The Datsun was a popular vehicle in the 1960s and 70s especially in the U.S. The two-door sports car gained a respectable reputation due to its fuel-efficiency during the oil crisis in the 1970s and for many people it was the first car they ever purchased.
Nissan got rid of the car in 1985 due to poor sales.
The price of the revamped Datsun will be lower in the U.S., but experts say don't expect it to be $5,000 or under.
Nissan feels they can capitalize more in developing nations by selling the car at such a drastically low price because people there have a hard time being able to save up for many things never mind a new vehicle. They feel they won't benefit the same way in the U.S.
"It's a big mistake to think you can introduce a cheap car in emerging markets and be successful," said Yukitoshi Funo, the executive vice president at Toyota Motor Corp. in charge of developing markets to The Wall Street Journal. "People want a car they and their families can be proud of."
With the re-introduction of the Datsun, Nissan is hoping to capture eight percent of the world market by 2016. This would be an increase up from six percent currently.
Datsun was created in 1931 and was named Datson because there was a larger car called DAT and they wanted to emphasize to customers that they were a selling a different and smaller car.
When Nissan purchased the company, they changed the name to Datsun because in Japanese "son" could also be interpreted as "loss" and the company did not want a word that represents negativity in the name.
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