Japanese car manufacturer Nissan is attempting to revive an old brand with an eye-catching new price tag: $3,000 for a Datsun.
That's $5,000 cheaper than their next cheapest model, the Tsusru, sold in Mexico. In fact, it's cheaper than any other car model in the world, save for a few Chinese and Indian brands that specialize in mini-cars.
But American fans shouldn't get too excited, as the new Datsun will only be available in emerging markets like Russia, China and India.
Carlos Ghosn, chairman and chief executive officer of Nissan, announced the return of the Datsun on Monday in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
Ghosn said the company plans to make at least six different Datsun models, ranging in price from $3,000 to $5,000, and will start rolling them out in 2014.
Nissan and Datsun face stiff competition from small, independent car companies in China and India. They have fewer regulations to deal with and lower labor costs, and they already have the infrastructure in place to produce cheap cars.
While Nissan may get a boost from its name-recognition and a reputation for quality and safety, it will need to cut corners if it wants to hit that $3,000 price tag. Likely the new Datsun will be missing things most American consumers take for granted, like airbags and automatic transmissions.
And much like writing an article, sometimes trimming features is more difficult than adding them on. It can cost $1 billion to develop a car model, and with such a low price tag, Nissan will have to sell quite a few to recoup its costs.
Of course, since nearly half of all car sales worldwide are made in emerging markets--and that number is expected to climb to 60 percent in the next five years--there may very well be enough demand to help Nissan's venture pay off.
Don't look for encouragement from any of Nissan's rivals, though. "It's a big mistake to think you can introduce a cheap car in emerging markets and be successful," said Yukitoshi Funo, executive vice president at Toyota in charge of developing markets, speaking to The Wall Street Journal. "People want a car they and their families can be proud of."
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