Comeback kid: Datsun could live on as cut-price electric vehicle brand

Just days after Nissan announced it was killing off the Datsun brand, information has emerged suggesting it could be revived – again.

A source within Nissan has told US publication Automotive News it could transform Datsun into an electric vehicle company for emerging markets.

While there’s no indication of when Datsun could make its return, its parent company is focusing on a new-generation of electric vehicles within the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance.

Part of this push includes a successor to the compact Micra hatch, which will make its debut in 2024 with a driving range of up to 400 kilometres available from a single charge.

With the Micra replacement expected to use the same CMF-BEV platform, which will also underpin the battery-powered Renault R5, mass production and amortisation could eventually lead to a cut-price Datsun-branded electric vehicle being introduced into selected markets.

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After the badge was retired by Nissan in 1986, Datsun was brought back by former CEO Carlos Ghosn in 2013 for buyers in India, Russia, and Indonesia, among others.

Struggling sales were said to be to blame for the brand’s most recent retirement, but it seems Nissan isn’t quite ready to kill off the Datsun brand for good.