First Datsun car likely to make debut on July 15

Nissan is likely to unveil the first Datsun badged car on July 15. According to a report from Autocar India, the first Datsun vehicle (codenamed K2) will be a five door hatchback and will be unveiled at the Kingdom of Dreams near New Delhi under the auspices of Renault-Nissan chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn.   

This is the Japanese automaker budget brand for markets like India, Russia and South Africa. We already know that the car will be based on the previous generation Nissan Micra’s K12 platform and will sit below the present generation Micra but will get an all new design. The company has confirmed that it will not be a complete stripped down version of Nissan Micra but will be smaller yet will have roomier interiors. 

The report says that Nissan will be banking heavily on this car to give it volumes in the mass market car segment. They hope to retail around 150, 000 to 200, 000 units of the Datsun badged cars a year. The K2 is expected to follow the I2 and the K2 seven-seater. The I2 will mostly be an A-segment car which is expected to be priced in the range of Rs 2.5 Lakh and above, while the K2 seven-seater is most likely to be in the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga category.  All three vehicles will be officially launched at 2014 Auto Expo.  

Datsun is expected to use the existing Nissan sales network but in smaller places where the Japanese automaker has no presence, Datsun showrooms are expected to come up.  The Datsun hatchback is expected to compete with Hyundai i10, most of Maruti Suzuki’s small car range as well as vehicles like the Chevrolet Beat and Spark. 

Autocar India has also got it hands on a teaser image of the car. The Datsun family of cars are expected to sport a set of hexagonal grilles and have a small Datsun logo in the centre.