Q. Is Datsun the largest high-growth-markets project that Nissan has undertaken in its corporate history? Or is it just another large product development exercise?
Cobee: This is not a product endeavour. The Nissan brand has had very specific product initiatives targeting the high end [segment] with sports sedans, affordable sedans or city hatchbacks. Here we are talking about a complete brand endeavour; so it has product content but it also has development logic, industrial production, brand and marketing philosophy, distribution and service component—the whole span of automotive businesses.
It is by far the biggest endeavour Nissan Motor Company has undertaken since the launch of Infiniti. And knowing that Infiniti was launched mostly for North America and the luxury segment at that time (in the early 80s), this one is targeting a completely different set of countries and has a multi-country approach which Infiniti didn’t have. In terms of the magnitude of business engagement, the only thing that comes close to this is the decision (in the early 60s) to go abroad.