The relaunch of the Datsun brand may have got off to a slow start for Nissan Motor Company, but the Japanese carmaker sees it as an important pillar in expanding its footprint which will bring in incremental sales in the future.

India, the first market where the company has relaunched the brand, will be a gateway to Africa, SAARC countries and Southeast Asia in the coming years, the head of Datsun brand Vincent Cobee told ET. The company is looking at several new markets and almost a third of Datsun's production will go towards exports in the short to mid-term, he said.

"In the short-term, there are at least 10-15 countries we could consider. In Africa, if I sell Datsun Go, it will be made in India. It is not unreasonable to think that the Chennai plant will export Datsun to 10-20 countries; India will grow, export will grow, a good balance will be two-thirds India and onethird exports," said Cobee.

For Nissan, he said, the engines of growth are electric vehicles, Infiniti reinforcement and third geographical expansion through Datsun. "So what is my role? My role is to be an engine of growth," said Cobee. "The new territory in terms of geographical coverage is driven by emergence of middle class, very competitive price of around 10,000 dollars, which is where Nissan is not present, so the geographical expansion will be driven by Datsun. There is a structured, clear strategy for that," he said.

Datsun, which is being sold in India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa, had combined sales of 50,000 units in 2014. The volumes are likely to double this year, but the projection is way below Nissan's expectations.

Under Nissan's Power 88 plan for 2016, Datsun was expected to bring in significant incremental volumes. In India alone, the plan was to sell 2,00,000 units per annum by 2016-17, but it is yet to cross 50,000 units in cumulative sales in the past 18 months. Therefore, the focus on exports will reduce the risk for Nissan Motor India.

In India, Cobee said, the company plans to introduce a new product in the form of Go Cross, a small crossover, besides adding emotional dimension to the brand with more communication and regional fix, and grow with a strategy of approaching a specific market with complete focus, fixing it and moving to next.

Reviewing the performance of Datsun so far, Cobee said that it is a case of glass half full or half empty.

While sales in Russia and India have been below expectations, Datsun has fared better than expectations in Indonesia and South Africa. In India, although volumes have been low, Cobee said both the products, Go and Go+, have done very well in terms of customer satisfaction.