Datsun, a marque with a 100-plus year history to its name, is to end as a carmaker, as the Nissan group reverts from the expansionist approach of former CEO Carlos Ghosn. This follows the withdrawal of Nissan’s luxury arm Infiniti from the European market, with the large-scale contraction a move to focus on core models and big-selling segments.
Nissan has officially killed off Datsun
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Car enthusiasts will of course remember the 240Z as more a Datsun than a NIssan, but the Datsuns Brittons will remember were budget family cars sold here from 1968 and through the 1970s. They were particularly loved for their reliability and efficiency, if not their raw desirability, compared to home-grown machinery from the likes of British Leyland. Names like Cherry and Sunny were a common sight on UK roads, with yearly sales reaching beyond 30,000 units in the early-to-mid 1970s. It wasn’t for lack of popularity or success that the Datsun name was fazed out. More that its success warranted the badge of parent company Nissan take over from what always was a subsidiary.
On the shelf since the 1980s, Datsun was revived in 2013, as a budget sub brand for use in emerging markets. Its tiny budget car, the Go, was sold in African, Indian and South American markets among others. The budget car market in general has come under stress at the moment, with slowing sales and carmakers looking to cut down on models with slim profit margins. The Go and indeed Datsun in general was the very definition of ultra-low budget and consequently, low-margin.
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Though withdrawn from the market, Datsun customers need not worry. Nissan fully intends to look after owners with the appropriate aftercare they’d expect. The last units still in inventory to sell will be the last of some 20 million Datsuns sold around the world over the years. Whether they’ll be the last ever?
Time will tell.