Not since the early 1980s has the name Datsun been stamped to the fender of a new car but that could soon change. In an attempt to increase sales in smaller world markets, Nissan Motor Company is looking to revive their old moniker to produce a whole new brand. With a plan to hit the streets in 2014, Nissan will place the historic Datsun name on highly local, small and economical cars for areas such as Indonesia, India and Russia. In order to breathe life back into the nameplate and open production in the Southeast Asian market, an estimated investment of $400 million will be made across the next two years.
The reveal was made by Nissan’s CEO, Carlos Ghosn, who went on to mention that there will be a generous investment into the specific market. According to an Automotive News article, by 2015, the automaker looks to have 150 dealerships in Southeast Asia, double the employees and a Datsun branded car for sale. When Nissan disbanded the secondary name worldwide in the 1980s, the world expected to only see Datsun again in history books. Born in 1932, the name and company was purchased by Nissan a year later and continued on for 50 years. In a decision to make the Nissan name truly worldwide, Datsun was simply switched and with other manufacture’s recent use of nostalgia, the Japanese automaker might strike a chord with its revival.
Source: AutomotiveNews.com
