Datsun Go: India launch on March 19

Nissan India has announced the dates for the Datsun Go launch. The much-awaited car that was first revealed globally in July 2013 will be launched on March 19, 2014.

With this car, its first in the B-segment, Nissan hopes it will re-define the compact segment and make buyers feel special.

A new entrant in the auto business must offer significant benefits over existing brands if it is to have a fair chance of success. Nissan Motor India has had this in mind as the Go launch nears.

A lot has been written about the car, its impressive exteriors, design and interior space. We discovered from a first-hand drive experience that Nissan’s engineers have picked a few things from the company’s global technology bin to make the Go offer go along with the show. For example, the suspension set-up is derived from Infiniti, Nissan’s premium car brand. The linear damper and the extra suspension stroke add to the ride comfort of the compact car. The rear suspension stroke is around 30 percent more than one of the Go’s competitors, and around 40 percent more than another.

Nissan has also offered certain ‘first-in-segment’ features as part of its value-for-money proposition to customers. The Go will have a slew of features that include smart instrument cluster meter, intelligent wiping system, follow-me-home lamps, seats offering better spine support, though only the top-end variant will likely offer most of these.

In addition, there are some smart engineering inputs. For example, the headlamps. The Go’s beams are up to two metres wider and 10 metres longer than its peers. In another area, Nissan claims that the ventilated disc helps Go have the ‘best’ braking performance of 80-0kph in 33 metres. The engineers at Nissan opted for a hydraulic clutch instead of a lever type to for the Go hatch in order to offer less operating force and longer clutch durability.

Many of the Go’s strengths may not be immediately apparent to the prospective customer who typically takes a 15-minute test drive. However, usage over a longer period could help the customers have a better experience of this difference that Nissan promises. Hence, the Go could be a product that ‘grows’ over a period of time instead of one-time product that screams success at the start.

At less than Rs 4 lakh for the top-end variant, Nissan may be able to appeal to the price conscious Indian customer. It also promises to keep the fuel bills lower compared to competing brands while offering good performance. The torque level of a little over 100 Nm helped for a good acceleration in city and highway. The Go is claimed to have fuel efficiency of 20.63kpl.

What will be crucial for success of the Go is a solid sales and aftersales network. Nissan will sell the Datsun Go through its network of 130 dealers. These dealerships will have a combined sales force of 700-800 professionals who have been recruited especially for the Datsun brand. Tomonori Muto, general manager, marketing product planning group at Nissan’s Datsun business unit says that the aim is to  provide an ‘unique experience’ to each prospective customer who will be served by professionals ‘who are not contaminated’ in the automobile retail business. There will be a team of at least five Datsun sales executives stationed at each showroom. Depending on market performance and demand, there could also be exclusive Datsun dealerships in the future.