The Datsun brand is set to remain in South Africa, says Datsun South Africa (SA) head Hide Kuwayama.

He describes current media reports around the future of the brand as “speculation”.

Kuwayama confirms, however, that there are indeed studies ongoing within parent company Nissan on “optimising the line-up within Nissan”, with Datsun part of these studies.

The studies follow a restructuring of Nissan’s operations in the wake of a scandal involving ousted CEO Carlos Ghosn and a sharp drop in profit at the Japanese car maker.

Nissan revived the Datsun brand in 2014, with a focus on emerging markets, such as South Africa, India, Indonesia and Russia.

South Africa sells two models in the Datsun line-up – the entry-level Go and the Go+, with the latter offering two extra seats to turn it into a seven-seater.

Kuwayama says Datsun SA is studying whether it can bring any additional Datsun models to South Africa, with the key to this “the right mix of affordability, accessibility, safety and comfort”.

The Go range increased its competitiveness in the local market in 2018, adding a seven-inch touch screen, dual airbags and antilock-braking (ABS), as well as structural reinforcements, after four years on local showroom floors.

The market has rewarded Datsun for these improvements, with the brand now at 27% market share in the entry-level market, up from 23% in the 2018 fiscal year (April to March), and 20% in the 2017 fiscal year.

“We now average between 700 and 800 units a month,” says Kuwayama.

The bad news, however, is that the South African new-car A-segment is down 5% year-on-year, with the dealer channel down a whopping 14%.

These numbers mirror a domestic economy under severe pressure, with first-time car buyers often hardest hit.

Another figure reflecting this struggle is a finance approval rating of around 30% in the domestic A-segment market.

One way to grow sales in this segment is to grow the customer offering, which is what Datsun SA is doing with the introduction of the Go Automatic CVT (continuous variable transmission).

“Customer demand for two-pedal cars has increased significantly, also in South Africa,” says Kuwayama.

“In 2018 around 15% of all new cars sold in the entry-level segment in South Africa were automatic.”

As Datsun sells almost 70% of its vehicles in the congested Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, an automatic Go could increase sales significantly, he notes.

Kuwayama’s aim is to get to 1 000 Datsun Gos a month, and for the dealer channel to “get back on track”.

The new CVT Go and Go+ versions, launched this month, deliver 57 kW of power at 6 000 rpm.

It is equipped with a 1 198cc three-cylinder engine and offers 104 Nm of torque at 4 400 rpm.

The new Datsun Go and Go+ CVT models also come with dual airbags, ABS with electronic brake-force distribution, vehicle dynamic control, reverse parking sensors and follow-me-home headlamps. There are also front and rear power windows and power steering.