Nine-odd months after Nissan India resurrected the Datsun brand and launched the Datsun Go hatchback in the Indian market the automaker is ready to introduce the Datsun Go+, a family wagon on the same platform.
Due for a January 2015 launch, the new sub 4-metre wagon with a petrol engine has an additional row of seats, and will be built at Nissan’s Chennai facility and will be nearly 97 per cent localised.
“Datsun launches two body types in every market, and in India we decided go with the utility vehicle and not the sedan,” Sundararajan Krishnan, Asst Chief Vehicle Engineer, Renault Nissan Technology & Business Centre India, said. He was speaking at a preview of the new vehicle near Rishikesh.
To provide for the extra mass (40 kg extra) and added load from passengers on the third row of seating, the steering, power train and brakes have been calibrated, while the suspension has been fine tuned, Krishnan said.
The vehicle is similar to Go+ Panca which is sold in Indonesia, but has some features especially suited for Indian road conditions, he added.