Dongfeng Nissan’s new Venucia division gained its first product earlier this year. And it’s apparently selling well. So it makes sense to launch another model, this time a rebadging of Nissan’s just-discontinued Tiida/Versa five-door.
The new Venucia R50 will go on sale in China from September, according to the Dongfeng Nissan joint venture (DFL-PV) which manufactures it. Production has just started at a still-shiny plant in Zhengzhou which has been building the sedan variant, the D50, since February.
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I couldn’t not pass on various delights that were part of the press release:
In developing R50, the ideas of being energetic, trendy, relaxing and enjoyable were kept in the design forefront. This resulted in an exterior design for R50 that is representative of the brand’s design concept of, “soar”.
VENUCIA R50 houses HR16DE (1.6-liter gasoline) engine, which generates exceptional power and fuel efficiency.
VENUCIA, derived from the Roman “Venus,” is the new local car brand of DFL-PV and has the core values of respecting customers, creating value, doing the best, achieving world-class quality and seeking the dream.
DFL-PV has just revealed that it managed to sell 12,723 units of the D50 between April and the end of June, so if this sort of volume can be maintained, Nissan and Dongfeng might have the last laugh.
Nissan has told the media that there will be five Venucia models, their combined annual sales due to reach 300,000 units/annum by 2015. This statement was of course issued to keep the Japanese company in the Little Red good books of the Communist Party: according to a dictat, foreign manufacturers must increasingly pass on more technology to their Chinese automaker partner(s).
Setting scepticism aside, Nissan does seem more serious about its new indigenous brand than some rivals, especially as it agreed to erect and pay 50% of the huge costs associated with the new plant that builds these low-cost cars. Can there be any profit in this new venture though? Maybe that’s missing the point. I wouldn’t dare to suggest that some time soon, Renault might suddenly hear that its long-delayed plans for building cars in China have been approved.
Author: Glenn Brooks
