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Datsun's lackluster initial sales fall below Tata Nano

When Tata introduced the Nano back in 2008, everyone was amazed at how cheap it was. They called it a game changer, but no game was changed. In fact, it took Tata five years to sell the 250,000 units it had the capacity to build in a single year. As it turns out, even buyers in what economists call "developing markets" like India aren't necessarily interested in buying an ultra-cheap automobile. And now it appears that Nissan may be falling into the same trap.
A little over a year ago, Nissan revived its old moniker Datsun to serve as a budget brand - similar to what ally Renault did with Dacia. Its lineup (consisting of models like the Go hatchback, Go+ minivan, On-Do sedan and Mi-Do hatch) is largely based on old architecture, packaged with little more than basic equipment and sold at rock-bottom prices. But Bloomberg reports that, even in the brand's core markets like India and Indonesia, the new Datsuns haven't been selling.
According to local industry figures, Datsun has sold fewer than 10,000 units of its $5,100 Go hatchbacks in India since its introduction back in March. Maruti Suzuki, by comparison, sells twice that many of its similarly priced Alto hatchbacks every month. In fact, after peaking in April, Datsun only sold 607 units in India this past July, dipping 77 percent to drop below even the number of Nanos which Tata sold that month.

Nissan and Renault chief engineers meeting to revive joint projects

PARIS — Renault's engineering boss will meet his counterpart at Nissan in Japan this week, two sources close to Renault said, as the carmakers seek to revive projects crucial to an alliance left reeling by the Carlos Ghosn affair. The Franco-Japanese alliance is wrestling with the fallout of the ouster and arrest of Ghosn, the architect of the partnership who now says it is at risk of collapse. Analysts say that in order to turn investor sentiment around, the firms need to make good on cost-saving joint engineering projects that have slowed since Ghosn's departure. According to the two sources, Gilles Le Borgne, who was hired on Jan. 6 from rival automaker PSA, will meet Nissan's Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi, the Nissan executive in charge of delivering the joint engineering projects. Renault did not respond to a request for comment on Le Borgne's meetings. Renault-Nissan's cost-saving alliance is vital to both companies as the car industry battles a slowdown and huge investments in cleaner vehicles and automated driving. "The alliance has taken a hit, but the alliance engineering team is still there," said a third source, who is close to the alliance. "You cannot, from one day to the next, stop something that's been embedded so deeply." Japanese prosecutors arrested Ghosn — who was at the time the head of the carmakers' alliance -- in November 2018 and accused him of financial misconduct. Ghosn slipped out of Japan and fled at the end of December to Lebanon. He says the charges were fabricated to force him out of an alliance in which the Japanese side no longer trusted its French partners. Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard has said both sides are determined to make the partnership succeed, with the joint projects a major focus. Those projects will be on the agenda when the board of the alliance, which also includes Japanese carmaker Mitsubishi <7211.T>, holds a regular meeting in Japan on Jan. 30. One area of focus will be hybrid power systems, a field where, analysts say, the alliance has not effectively pooled its research and development efforts. Each of the three members of the alliance has developed their own systems. "That's been among the sources of the friction," said the third source close to the alliance.

Chevy Volt sales surge with 2016 model, Nissan Leaf continues Autumn fall

The Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt have been locked in sales combat since they arrived within a short distance of each other way back in 2010, and we continue to follow that fight closely. Though both vehicles approach driving efficiency from a different angle, they each have plugs and owners put a surprisingly similar number of electric miles on them. With the launch of its 2016 model, the Bowtie brand now appears to have the upper hand, clocking in a solidly improved performance for the month of October. According to GM's sales charts, the Chevy Volt made it into the loving embrace of 2,035 buyers last month. That's up a whopping 41 percent over the same period in 2014, and more than a 100 percent improvement from the 949-unit result in September. Now, we don't know how many of these were 2015 models and how many were the all-new 2016 edition. Dealers are, no doubt, incentivized to move the old inventory, and the latest and greatest is still only available in a limited number of states. Breaking out the sad trombones, Nissan recorded a mere 1,238 units moved in October. That's down 52.2 percent from the same month in 2014. That's also nine fewer examples than last month. Despite its recent sales travails, the Leaf still leads the calendar-year-to-date figures by a commanding 14,868 to 11,299 tally. We imagine the Japanese manufacturer is counting on an improvement in the situation once the 2016 model, with its larger, optional 30 kWh battery becomes available. You can compare these two stalwarts with the rest of the green-vehicle field in our By The Numbers post due out tomorrow. Green Chevrolet Nissan Electric Hybrid ev sales hybrid sales volt