Vincent Cobee, Global Head of Datsun speaks about the brand’s plans
Datsun, the Japanese car brand owned by Nissan is maintaining an aggressive target of achieving a five per cent market share of the Indian market by 2020 along with Nissan. The brand which was relaunched in 2014 by Carlos Ghosn, the Chief Executive of the Renault-Nissan combine in India has enjoyed a small degree of success with their ‘Go’ platform. At the ongoing Auto Expo, the brand showcase the third vehicle based on this platform, the compact SUV the ‘Go Cross’ which might join the small ‘Go’ and compact MPV the ‘Go+’ in their line-up.
Datsun is also expanding their range of dedicated showrooms which are in addition to the joint showrooms with Nissan. Vincent Cobee, the Global Head for Datsun said that there today exist 42 dedicated Datsun showrooms among the 200 overall outlets and both numbers should increase by 50 per cent by the middle of 2017 with a particular focus on smaller towns where Cobee felt that the Go and Go+ have been really accepted by customers. Cobee added that Datsun was the most focussed of all low-cost car manufacturers in India because they designed cars meant for a ‘global emerging audience’ with their cars sold in Brazil, Indonesia and Russia although he admitted that economic troubles in those markets have hit the brand.
Given that financing schemes often ease the burden on consumers and also help them trade to more expensive cars, Cobee felt that customers should focus not on the ‘sticker price’ but take a close look at the overall cost of ownership. “We feel that we have the most affordable car when you look at maintenance, fuel economy and spare parts. While the difference on monthly payments between the Go and a competing car could be just a few hundred rupees, the difference in maintenance is sometimes 25-30 percent. Over the life of the car that really adds up.”
Commenting on the issue of safety where the Go failed a safety test a few years ago, Cobee highlighted how the Go now features a driver airbag and the fact that only 13 per cent of the estimated 135,000 annual road deaths in India involved cars and a miniscule percentage of those involved “high-speed offset collisions”, the test the Go failed. “Safety is a multi-partner issue, India needs to look at several issues particularly traffic segregation. You cannot have slow-moving cycles and fast-moving cars on the same lanes.” However, he did end with the point that “safety is not a marketing tool, it is a serious subject.”