It’s confirmed. Datsun is back. That’s right. The brand that Nissan discontinued in order to unify all of its products under one roof will be back on the road in the very near future. The news isn’t a surprising one. Nissan was earlier reported to be ready to revive the brand.
Reports suggest that Datsun will be an affordable car brand, with vehicles bearing a small displacement engine and fitted with high local content. Carlos Ghosn was quoted as saying that the Datsuns would be green cars, no doubt supporting the Indonesian government’s plans to introduce a Green Car plan in the near future.
So, in the grand scheme of things, Datsun will conveniently take its place under its parent, Nissan, and placed well away from the top-shelf Infiniti marque. The target market for each brand cannot be more obvious.
The rejuvenated sub-brand has a whole new market to tackle, of course. Ghosn, while talking to the media, said that Datsun ‘will provide sustainable motoring experience to optimistic up-and-coming customers in high-growth markets’. And it will all start in Indonesia.
Nostalgia – the B110 from 1970-73. Click to enlarge.
Which is why Nissan will be upping its production base and sales presence in the country. The total production capacity in Nissan’s Cikampek site will increase to 250,000 annually by 2014, with the workforce expanding to 3,300. This makes this factory one of the largest in the ASEAN region for Nissan. There are also plans to add 150 more dealerships by 2015.
Reports states that Datsun vehicles will start sales in India, Indonesia and Russia from 2014, but Indonesia remains the priority market for the brand, Ghosn said. “If there is any room for more capacity it will be located for the domestic (market) rather than for exports,” he told reporters. The reports also indicate an initial target figure of 60,000 units annually, with a growth rate of 7% each year.
To put more meat on the bones: there were 800,000 vehicles sold in Indonesia in 2011 alone. That makes the island-nation ASEAN’s largest car market. The total is estimated to increase almost double by 2017. And it looks like Nissan would love to be in the thick of things.
And this is the B210 from 1973-77.
Demarcation is always a good thing, especially if you’re looking to define your products and their intended target market, without affecting clout and the perception of your consumer base. In this regard, the Renault-Nissan alliance has set up its stall with clear intent and purpose as far as separation goes – Renault has Dacia, and Nissan, Datsun and Infiniti.
Going the Dacia route wouldn’t work, at least not in the region. The brand is an unknown entity in these parts, and besides, it has Renault spelt all over it. Datsun has far better ‘heritage’ (well, it does!) and association as a name, and the reintroduction route is a simpler option to plonk for. In any case, offering a clear sub-brand should work far better than going say, the IMV route chosen by Toyota.
Still, there’s the odd, inevitable question. I wonder how much money is being spent to reintroduce the name. To the average teen on the street, the name Datsun could very well mean a new line of shoes. And it is this same group of teenagers that will possibly own a Datsun as their first car; Datsun is a brand that’s unheard of where the current generation is concerned. It could probably be a new brand of smartphones, for all they know.
Now, who can forget the B310 – known as the 120Y here – from 1977-81?
It might not matter, really, because if it’s all priced right and meets the requirements of the intended market, it’ll be lapped up.
Malaysia isn’t on the Datsun radar, at least not at the moment, and in all likelihood the brand might not come. The cheapest Nissan in the market is now the Sentra 1.6 manual, at around RM85,000. Price the car any lower, which the Datsun must absolutely be, and it will invade into national car territory. Price it higher, which is the likely scenario, and it simply doesn’t make sense.
In spite of these speculative hurdles, I do hope Datsun makes it back here and I do hope it re-establishes itself, more for nostalgic reasons than any other. For the older generation of drivers, it was with Datsun cars that they first cut their motoring teeth. Me, I cut mine in a B11 130Y, the initial batch of which bore Datsun badging.
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first… heheheh…
datsun, one of the most reliable car in the past..
Datsun Tonggek FTW!
This brings back fond memories of my dad. He had a Datsun 120Y and later on a Datsun Sunny.
My dad had one too, a 160J. Good memories!
Been a Nissan family as well. A Violet 1600, a 120Y and then the 130Y. Fond memories.
fu yooh really nostalgic that 120y.had some memories going to school in it
My late father’s first foray into Japanese car ownership was a blue 1970 Datsun Bluebird A510 SSS(1.6 Twin Carb),he was a continental car loyalist but he absolutely loved that car.He kept it in mint condition for almost 30 odd years until some dickhead nicked it from our house when we were vacationing overseas.We never found it.Dad was devastated.I passed my driving test in a pre 1970 Datsun 120Y.Great little car and almost stupidly realiable.It was indestructible and it will run forever.
Then somewhere in late 1973,his buddy procured a beige Datsun 240z which he test drove and fell in love with,and somewhere in early 1974,there sat a chili red Datsun 240z in our driveway.Dad loved the Zed as they are known in the U.S.Then sometime after i left for the States for almost 20 years(where Datsun’s were hugely popular too)and in between those years when i used to come back for my yearly vacation,dad procured at first a 260z,then lastly the 280z.Including the A510,we had four stickshift Datsun’s at one point!It was great to see them parked side by side in our driveway.
I have a soft spot for the brand as i grew up driving them,especially the Zeds!I really hope it makes it here.I will certainly get one just to rekindle old memories.Great cars.
Cheers.
Kumar, I remember the A510 SSS very well – my uncle had one. Marvelous thing, it was. The Zeds need no introduction, of course, especially the S30. The image of the 240Z doing the dirty on the Safari Rally is forever etched in my mind. Sad that the lithe thing had bloated considerably by the ’90s.
I think the 120Y will forever be associated with learner schools and driving tests – if you did it in one you know how old you are. :) I did mine in a B310 version. Which was good because I nicked my mum’s 310 out every night for two weeks – when she was on vacation in Australia – to learn how to drive after silently taking operation notes each time I was in the car. Almost pranged it the first day doing a old-styled version of launch control going up a rather steep ramp when I misjudged clutch-gas inputs. She never did figure out why her son only needed four driving lessons before going for the test!
For the 130Y Sunny, my particular highlight has been the plastic hub covers for the wheels, the little bit you locked in between the bolts of the steel wheels to dress it up. They were notorious for being nicked as replacements for those lost when you hit a bump too many (expensive too, at about 30 bucks a pop), and on a trip to Genting with three friends, I set out to replace the one piece that had been liberated from my mum’s car at the huge outdoor carpark, filled with plenty of Sunnys for the taking.
I learnt then that it was a bad idea to ask friends to help “get one,” because they came back with 34! The only good thing was that we never ran out of covers throughout the eight years we had the car. I still have one, which always reminds me of the (only) time I was involved in crime! :)
Ah Anthony,i must say we have grown old!None the wiser i reckon.Hahahaha.You wrote your reply to me with such fond memories of the brand,just like me.
I think you can agree with me that cars that were built those days are a breed of their own.They just don’t make them like they used to.I have always been fascinated with the automobile since i was a little tyrant running around giving my parents hell..i was fortunate that Dad was well heeled and he owned many cars from many marques,mostly continental,but the Datsun was the only Japanese brand we both were so fond of.This did not mean that i had it easy with the Old Man.I had to work my ass off to get what i wanted..i’m sure you were from the same boat as well Anthony in terms of being raised..those were the days.
I am an automobile engineer by profession and it’s been almost 27 years already,20 of which i spent working with all the big three in Detroit,Michigan before coming back home recently.To be honest,i don’t favour how our automotive industry is faring right now,and if all goes well,i will return to the U.S for good.
About the A510 SSS,if you know this car,you should also know that it was a riot to drive hard,which i drove the living daylights out of it when Dad had it,we both loved that car,not to mention the family of Zeds we owned.In the States,there are fanatical groups who swear by it and still race them till this day.Thanks to my late father who introduced me to this brand,i too owned the A510 and the 260&280z when i was in States.Dad used to joke with me saying that i’m competing with him on the Datsun’s when he and Mom used to visit.
The memories are just so sweet for me with this brand and it will forever have a place in my heart.Thank you for your memorable reply Anthony.
Cheers.
No need for thanks, Kumar. I enjoyed reliving the past in writing that reply. My late father loved his Continentals too, though more working class (ha ha), from Austins (no Allegro, thankfully!) to Fiats (tedious things, even then) and the odd Triumph two-wheeler. Datsun was the only Japanese brand our family had, and my late mum swore by them, and the marque holds a special place in my heart, so yes, I am quite happy that it has been resurrected, though the gestalt is very different now. And I fully agree that they don’t make them like they used to.
Ah, the memories. I remember the days where i was still a little kid, and i had a look-see in a dad’s friend’s Datsun 120Y. The feeling of the car itself, the build quality, it was just so damn meticulous that i wouldn’t even mind buying one in mint condition as a real classic i could appreciate. Loved that tinny engine sound, that retro-yet awesome-looking dash, not to forget the damned accurate manual gearbox that would put quite a handful of cars to utter shame.
Yup I have a Datsun 120Y in which I still can drive from KL to Kota Baru with confidence.
long live Datsun :-D
I remember seeing a tee shirt with the silhouette of a new Nissan GT-R and underneath it said ” It’s still a Datsun. It will be cool to see a resurrection of the Datsun name. Maybe the old Prince brand name will be the next to come back!
Datsun buah kana ;)
Datsun… the first that I drive… past it on from my father
the first car i drove officially – at driving school!
slower than kancil 660 but seriously can be more economical. all basic and everything works well so no such thing as faulty electric windows, leaking power steering fluid, ABS warning light on, malfunction auto tranny .. ha ha i loved cars from the 80s.
I am still driving my B210……..until now. My dad is the 2nd owner in 1975……..now i inherit the car……..it is my daily ride to work….. :).
stay strong dude,.
Wow… i’m looking for a 2nd car to commute & for a restore project… datsun buah kana is my selection & now, just read that they will produce new cars again…yeay!!! anyone wanted to sell their datsun buah kana cheap2? call me now..haha
“Price the car any lower, which the Datsun must absolutely be, and it will invade into national car territory.”
Wonder why Asia’s BMW being so paranoid. It’s just a Datsun.
There’s still a huge gap between RM85k and the national car prices, while the gap is made even closer with introduction of Inspira and new Persona P3-21A.
(We are talking about sedans here, no Alza, Chery Eastar or Exora)
If ETCM is smart enough and willing to compete against Toyota, they will probably place Datsun cars at prices in the RM60k territory which will be lower than Vios, the top non-national car currently.
nope, the G wont allow any japanese cars to be priced head-to-head against national car. 70K is the lowest one can go, and thats what UMW Toyota did by throwing off airbags and alloy wheels with the Vios J.
not any lower no matter how loud we screamed. thats the unofficial policy
If they release the same exact 120Y, without any changes I will still buy it at RM50K.
Datsun Bahulu ;)
So, for Protongkat what is their cheap crap sub-brand division called?
Oh it’s still called Protongkat, sorry my bad.
Its called LGE pakatan
datsun imo is the coolest name for a car when translate to Mandarin or Cantonese :)
A car that makes sense without much fuzz.
For sure MITI wont allow ETMC to bring the new Datsun in Malaysia..or else P1 and P2 will go bankrupt….
Well it really depends on who is the government elected next. The opposition has no interest whatsoever with proton and would likely sell it off. By then who is MITI to stop etcm from launching the Datsun. Anyway proton has never been any benefit to Malaysians being fully funded from tax payers money, only some bloody old mans blind and selfish dream
the gov already sell it off lol
But any government will have an interest to protect its local industries.
To much imports is no good.
BTW have you heard the Pakatan will want to scrap proton? or local car manufacturing. I don’t see any of it stated in buku jingga.
The only thing that will change is that Proton will no longer be the money pit for “Madey” and to do as his pleases, and that’s for sure.
Isn’t it better if we shut down Proton and Perodua, instead focusing on being the hub for Green hybrid vehicles like the Prius, Prius c and insight. We also have the potential to attract the higher end makers like Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes.
Collaboration with such companies could give many job opportunities and with such companies here our universities has all the expertise and experience to learn from, giving out local grads the edge over neighbour countries and also making them sought after by companies world wide. This could make malaysia a talent hub as well…….
rumors said their new vehicle mostly are rebadged from DACIA..for Indonesia, India and Russia.
Renault owns both Dacia and Nissan. there is a logic that Dacia cars will be used as the budget car project.
the recent Dacia Sandera, Dacia Duster and Dacia Logan are not bad actually.
bring in the SSS!!!
“The cheapest Nissan in the market is now the Sentra 1.6 manual, at around RM85,000. Price the car any lower, which the Datsun must absolutely be, and it will invade into national car territory.”
If you are poor, you don’t even have the freedom of choice.
No cheapest Nissan is NV200 at RM 65K & X-Gear at RM 82.8K.
he is talking about cars, the vans are not ‘eating’ national car sales directly
120Y is a good and solid car, I used 120Y before, it recall my memory.
this was my dad’s first car,the 120Y
hope they got datsun 240/260/280z version ^^
still remember that datsun quad weber my friend had…faster than a satria GTI, but corners lika a steamship…lol…
oops…i mean twin weber…theres no such thing as quad weber…lol…
on 4 cylinder superbikes, perhaps?
You missed out the most important Datsun…
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/JapaneseFairladyZ1970.jpg
That 120Y if retro-fitted with ABS, airbags, power window, USB MP3 player easily eat Saga for breakfast anytime…
Why no mention of the classic Z car… the 1971 Datsun 240Z?
I love Datsun SSS, nicely restore can be a damn good car. Oh ya, it has good handling too. I remember when I was yound, I saw some people used the car to smuggle rice from thai border to the market. Sometime being chased by the custom too.
Memories of my 1600SSS…..
Go DATSUN!
My father use to owned Datsun 120Y..one of the classic example of sub standard quality of japanese car in those days a.k.a tin sardin body. After two years the body start to get rusty. But the engine is good.
it would be a dacia sister i guess…
Don’t get too excited……the wolves will probably price it close to 100k
I remeber my dad bought the brand new Datsun 120Y , cost around 14k in the late 70’s..
i think even if they retain the original designs from the past,many people will still buy it.I know i will
keta zaman test lesen memandu aku ni dulu 120y..
Datsun Sunny BOY (130Y)… :)
drive datsun b110 , during “driving school” period ….
I didn’t even notice that Datsun had changed to Nissan when I bought my Sunny 130Y back in 1984. The two most popular models at that time must be the Totota Corolla and Nissan Sunny which cost roughly about RM21K and RM18K respectively. I chose Sunny 130Y simply because of the RM3K difference and I had to pay an annual interest rate of 10 % for my car loan, wasn’t it terrible? I still have this Sunny with me, yes, 28 years old and stil running smoothly. Though I only use it as a spare car, it has never failed me over the years. Good job, Datsun or Nissan?
Totota Corolla? hahahaha. no offence man. its just funny
i dont see why datsun cant get into 55k-75k bracket
well quite big task to go dip 60k and below but 60-75k is a great window to be in
we got lowest spec vios, national cars, low spec forteh, and … thats it?
i mean, sedan type, that pretty much the mix isnt it.
datsun is a much humble brand and i wud regard it as the working class, fist n chin up type. it works hard its durable, and timeless; well for some
Will the new Datsuns’ side mirrors still be on the fenders?
OMG! This stories really nostalgic!
I was once in Datsun 120Y taxi. Black in color. Still remember. My dad drove Opel Kadett. I was 5 y.o that time. My 1st impression was, wow, I can hear the tire rolling against the road. This car is so quiet! Man! Opel is noisy! Haha. That was in 1982.
In 1987, my late dad bought 1st gen Sunny 130Y. It was our 1st car with aircon. Aircon was so cold. One day, dad accidentally hit one big deep pothole. Bad vibration. Arm patah. When foremen opened/dismantled everything inc. dashboard, found out that there were so many fragments of broken windshield under the carpet. Owh. The car has got/met an accident before. Dad changed to 3rd-gen Sunny. (The big tail-lamp) 1.3 Extra. After Dad signed new dotted line, only the same salesman told him that the 1st Sunny was belonged to a “Taukeh Jual Babi” from Pandamaran Klang!! Cilaka punya salesman!
New 1.3 Extra got orange color meter. Jakun again. Old one was yellow. Quite nice too. Comparatively, Proton 1.3S & 1.5S had used green color meter. I was and AM into meter till today! (Saga 1.5i still out of story that time).
We used that Sunny since I was in standard 5, till I was form 5. I practiced driving for licence also in that car. I went for exams after school also driving that car. My siblings came back from overseas also using that car; for important matters ie. First interviews or something. I even date with my current wife also in that car. And something ‘first’ that I can’t write down here. :)
We used it till 2003. That was good 15 years. Can’t recall any major problem with that car other than “AC pump” failure, aquarium-water tank at tail-lamp and what? That’s all!
At the very same year, (after I’ve had my own family/wife) I bought a used Nissan Bluebird 2.0i U12. Used it till 2008 and then I got myself a used Nissan X-Trail 2.5.
Lastweek, Somebody just agreed to buy it at a very good price for GE13 use. Bought it at 90k in 2008, now selling it for 55k after 4 years. Now doing some budget whether to get MR20DE Sylphy or Teana.
Sorry, I just can’t untie myself from the… very maintenance-free, no-headache brand. Not just a brand. It’s THE story behind that brand…
Apologise for the too long post.
I’m still having a impressive experience with my first car, a 18 years old Datsun 120Y; I drove it from KL to Bukit Kayu Hitam (non stop), and the car perform well without fail !
I owned a 73′ Datsun B110 Driving School.
Still using the car as daily car even i already moded like cams,adjustable suspension n etc.
Will not sell it till the car gave up on me!!!
datsun 120Y year 1978 was my first car owned during univ. time. 22 years old car that time still run better. Disposed it after study and now owning few units limited car, thanks to Datsun. Datsun boleh!!!
in kelantan.. they called this “DATSUN WOH HULU” the lembab one and always drive by pak haji. -____-“
My 1st Car 120Y B210 super safe petrol..Damn good man!!
B310…kenangan lama…puas lenjan..xrosak2…
I bought my Datsun 120Y for RM 6,000 only ,still can run reliably until today.
I wish they would bring back the 510
i wish datsun will come back here..the first car brand i step into,my late father Datsun Triple H..well i dunno the model but he used to mention datsun triple H.hihi..