Auto Express has learned that parent company Nissan is planning to extend its ownership of the rights to the Datsun name – and the plans include an all-new logo.
The firm was rebranded as Nissan in the Eighties, and was most famous for small sports cars such as the Seventies 240Z and the Sunny hatchback.
If Datsun makes a return, it’s likely to be a sub-brand for Nissan that aims to produce economical and affordable cars. Nissan’s sister company, Renault, already has such a subsidiary in Dacia, so it’s possible that the new Datsuns could simply be rebadged Dacias.
It’s unlikely that the cars would be sold in the UK, at least initially, as Nissan believes they would be better suited to developing overseas markets.
The new machines will most likely be launched as part of the ‘Power88’ plan, which will see the car maker release a new model every six weeks for the next six years.
A spokesperson for Nissan said: “We are looking at various brands and the option to acquire various brands for use in the future, should we want to. We need to make sure that we own the Datsun name. If we were to use it, Datsun would most likely be a brand for large, developing markets such as Russia and China.”
Datsun hasn’t been resting – Nissan designers have been working on concept cars to keep the brand alive, producing the four-seat XLink diesel hybrid sports coupe. This was developed at Nissan Yulon Design Center by Pforzheim University student Benjamin Nawka in 2008.
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Well I don't know which is Better. Nissan or Datsun I should Datsun better.
NEW SUNNY!
Funny, I never did stop calling them "Datsuns", I even think of and refer to Infinity as Datsuns.
Nissan already has a low cost brand in China with their Dongfeng partner. It's called Venucia
www.markeaandrews.com
Does that mean that it'll be possible to buy something from a Nissan dealer that isn't an SUV or a Micra?
Sunny was dull but reliable, bring back the Bluebird and Laurel!
Does this mean return of the Prarie and the Stanza?!