Nissan to Re-Enter Pakistani Market

Nissan Motor Co. says it will use its low-cost Datsun brand to resume vehicle production in Pakistan next year after a nine-year hiatus.

The cars will be assembled in Karachi, distributed and marketed through a licensing agreement with local partner Ghandhara Nissan Ltd. Ghandhara will invest 4.5 billion Pakistani rupees ($39 million) in the project over the next four years.

Nissan says Pakistan’s overall new-car market, which has grown to about 200,000 units per year, is likely to expand to 300,000 vehicles by 2022. The boom also has sparked new production plans by Hyundai, Renault and Volkswagen.

Nissan’s Karachi factory will have annual capacity to make 6,000 vehicles. The facility will assemble several Datsun models that share the same platform. The companies aim for initial local content of 20%.

The two carmakers first partnered in 1983, producing the Nissan Sunny small sedan in Pakistan on and off for four years beginning in 1996. But Nissan withdrew in 2010 after succumbing to competition from market leaders Honda, Suzuki and Toyota.