Nissan to offer cheap cars under Datsun brand

Nissan Motor Co is counting on its heritage Datsun brand to attract a vast pool of first-time car buyers in emerging markets as it aims to grab an 8 per cent share of the global market by 2016, executives said on Wednesday.

Japan's No.2 automaker announced a day earlier the revival of the 80-year-old Datsun nameplate for entry-level cars starting in India, Indonesia and Russia from 2014, after it was ditched in 1981 to consolidate all cars under the Nissan brand.

"Datsun is a good name," Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn told reporters at Nissan's global headquarters in Yokohama on Wednesday. "Datsun was known for a product that was robust, reliable and affordable. These are good attributes to start with, (and) we're going to add good quality and modernity."

For Nissan, selling cheaper cars under an independent brand removes the risk of hurting its core brand - a conundrum that rivals such as Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co faced as they push the limits of low-cost offerings in India and other markets.

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