Nissan lines up Rs. 1,700 crore for Datsun's India Factory

Nikkei – a Japanese Business Daily - reports that the Renault-Nissan combine will invest Rs. 1,700 crore ($320 million) toward capacity expansion for the Datsun brand in India. 

In March 2012, Nissan had announced that it will be resurrecting the Datsun brand for India, Indonesia & Russia. Datsun will be positioned as a low-cost brand : Link to full report. 

Renault-Nissan’s Chennai facility currently has a production capacity of 400,000 units per annum, a large part of which is used for export markets. The fresh investment will add capacity of another 200,000 units p.a. at a second factory for Datsun; the company’s initial sales expectations for Datsun's low cost cars are thus ~16,000 units / month. That is double the current sales volume of Nissan-Renault in India. Datsun's facility might also make budget cars for Renault. 

The first Datsun hatchback is expected to roll out in 2014 at a price point of Rs. 3 lakh.