Nissan South Africa says there are “no plans at this stage” for its Datsun budget brand to exit the local market.

Speaking during a virtual roundtable event with media, Kabelo Rabotho, Nissan South Africa’s marketing director, said Datsun models would continue to be sold locally.

“The sale of Datsun in South Africa will continue. There are no plans at this stage to stop selling Datsun [models] in the local market,” Rabotho confirmed.

The news comes after a source “with knowledge of the measures” told Bloomberg in May 2020 that Nissan would phase out its Datsun brand. Two months prior, Nissan closed its factories in Indonesia, pulling its Datsun brand from that market and reigniting rumours the budget division would be killed off.

In addition, when unveiling its four-year transformation plan at the end of May 2020, Nissan confirmed it would close down its Datsun business in Russia.

Late in 2019, Datsun South Africa described the rumours of the brand's seemingly impending demise as mere “speculation”, saying it planned to continue operating locally.

Original article from Car