Nissan forays into entry-level car space with Datsun redi-GO

The Hindu: Nissan is working on a two-pronged strategy to push its newly-launched entry-level Datsun redi-GO into a car of choice of urban India.

Detailing the entry-level game plan of the Japanese carmaker, Guillaume Sicard, president of Nissan India, however, admitted that challenge on hand was a tough one for the company.

The immediate task was to ensure that Datsun redi-GO got into the top of the mind of prospective young Indian car buyer, he said. That meant that Nissan had to beef up its communication strategy, he added. 

Guillaume Sicard, President of Nissan India, poses during the launch of their Datsun Redi-GO compact hatchback car in Mumbai, India last week – Reuters

Sicard indicated that Nissan would rely significantly on digital tools to reach out to its clients. Simultaneously, the Japanese company was also working an elaborate action plan to reassure prospective customers on the service quality and the value for money proposition offered by Nissan. In this context, he pointed to the efforts of Nissan in gauging the consumer feedback through clinic tests and extensive training of its sales personnel in pushing the Datsun brand.

He said India was among the four countries where the Datsun brand was not present historically. Though it was not present in countries such as Russia, Indonesia and South Africa, the Datsun brand awareness was very much there, he said. “Awareness about Datsun in India is close to nil,” he added. Read against this backdrop, he indicated that Nissan had the task cut out for its entry-level play in India.

He said Nissan would focus on satiating the domestic needs for Datsun redi-Go. As such, he said there won’t be any mass export of Datsun redi-Go in the near-term at least, he added. To a question, he, however, said Datsun redi-GO, though designed for India, was also planned for export as well.

Nissan’s Datsun Redi-GO compact hatchback car is displayed 

during its launch in Mumbai last week – Reuters

He said Datsun redi-Go would have 98% local content. To a query, he said that the India mass market (for entry-level cars) had enough space for more players. He expected Nissan to have a 5% market share in the Indian passenger car space. At the moment, it has less than 2% share. He reiterated that the focus of Nissan would be on providing value for money. The company exported around 110,000 vehicles last year and sold 45,000 domestically. The export number would be slightly below 90,000 this year, he said.

Datsun redi-GO will be offered in five variants. Nissan promises that the car offer best-in-class features in terms of fuel use, safety and comfort. It is also coming out with aggressive warranties. 

Datsun redi-GO is the third offering from Datsun stable. Renault-Nissan alliance factory at Oragadam near Chennai has, in the meanwhile, commenced its third shift to take care of the emerging demand with the launch of Datsun redi-GO.