Interview with Koji Nagano, Executive Design Director, Datsun

With Datsun showcasing their SUV concept at the Auto Expo, we spoke to their Executive Design Director, Koji Nagano, about their future design language and the feedback they’ve received from customers so far.

Datsun’s products have been in the market now for over a year now – how has customer feedback been regarding the design of your vehicles?
We’ve received very good feedback from customers. They have, in fact, understood the intention of the exterior design – and they consider the exterior to be very sporty and modern. And this is in-line with our target, so I think that we’ve delivered the right message to the right customers. To be honest, some of the feedback was about the interiors – which were liked by some customers, and not liked by others. Actually, dislike is too strong a word! It was more feedback about what changes customers would like to see in the interiors – such as more colour combinations – and we’re now discussing how we can use that feedback for the next lifecycle of our products.

Globally, SUV’s are the hottest segment right now. What are your expectations from a Datsun SUV?
After launching the Go and the Go+, we’re looking for a product – as is reflected in the Go-Cross concept – that is very aspirational and not just from an emotional angle, but also something that’s targeted the specific, functional needs of the customer. So, to meet that we created larger wheel arches, and equipped the concept with larger tyres to handle Indian roads. What we are now evaluating is how the concept meets the needs of Indian consumers. So, if we get positive feedback from customers and the press, we will consider this for production.

What kind of learnings from the Go and Go+ are being used in your future products?
I think we developed the vehicles in a very straightforward manner. We started with a very standard hatchback, but we still needed to make it very agile, modern and robust. Then we expanded the lineup with the Go+. Now, we have the chance to expand the range further, so the product range becomes more aspirational and emotional – which is some of the feedback that we’ve received.

With your experience of the Indian market now, if there were anything you could do differently – what would it be?
This is actually a very tricky question (laughs). You know, as a designer, I’m never completely satisfied with something that I’ve produced or created. So the way I look at, any of the vehicles created by me on the road, I tell myself that I should have made certain changes – and that regret happens all the time. But the Go and Go+ are very different vehicles to what I’ve created in the past, and I think we’ve really concentrated on the customer’s needs and priorities. So, I had to drop some elements and choose something else – and, in that sense, I do not regret anything and I think we created a proper product suited to the market.