[Roadsters] re-launch of Datsun

[Dana Scribner]

FYI TOKYO (Dow Jones)--Nissan Motor Co. (7201.TO) is considering adding a
third brand to its Nissan and Infiniti badges by reviving its iconic Datsun
brand, a person familiar with the matter said Friday.   The Japanese car maker
is actively "studying" the re-launch of Datsun, which it retired as a
sub-brand in 1983, as it looks to target the fastest-growing emerging markets
over the next five years with a range of low cost vehicles, the person said.
Details of the new marketing effort remain sketchy and it is unclear which
markets are in line for a resuscitated Datsun, a brand first introduced in
1932 and perhaps best known among former loyalists in the U.S. and U.K.
markets.   Nissan would not confirm or deny such plans. A company spokesman,
Mitsuru Yonekawa, declined to comment on future product strategy.   The No. 2
Japanese auto maker by sales volume is preparing to re-launch the brand by
2014 and sell up to 300,000 Datsun-badged vehicles a year, each priced around
Y500,000 ($6,173), according to a report in the Friday morning edition of the
Nikkei.   Reintroducing Datsun could better position Nissan for an aggressive
move into the ultra low-cost car segment globally without tarnishing the image
of its middle market Nissan and upscale Infiniti vehicles.   The Japanese car
maker announced last June that it wants to grab an 8% global market share by
the end of March 2017 as part of a six-year business plan, up from 5.8% in the
fiscal year ended March 2011.   Nissan is counting on much of that growth to
come from China, India and other emerging economies with low per capita GDP.
-By Chester Dawson, The Wall Street Journal, and Yoshio Takahashi, Dow Jones
Newswires; 813-6269-2791; yoshio.takahashi at dowjones.com