Nissan may return Pulsar name

The company is keen to recapture some of the magic lost when the Pulsar name was unceremoniously dumped four years ago with the arrival of the Tiida. The Pulsar name had been in use locally for more than 25 years.

Nissan Australia managing director, Dan Thompson, is now prepared to dust off the name and give it a new lease of life. "If, come Tiida replacement, we elect to launch with the Pulsar name, we will launch with the Pulsar name," Thompson, says.

However, Thompson cautions that 'it's a couple of years between now and launch'. "When we get to the right stage we'll do all the research to ensure that the equity in the Pulsar name is aligned with the product that we plan to launch," he says.

Although there is still equity in the name today, that may not be the case in the future. "There was equity a year ago when we had the discussion but whether it's there in two years time remains to be seen," he says. Thompson agrees there is plenty of goodwill among Pulsar owners because there is such a huge carpark of older cars. "But fast forward a few years down the road and those numbers are starting to dwindle," he says.

Changing the name is something Thompson can do "if we so desire". But he warns that the question remains whether the next-generation small car matches the brand equity of the Pulsar name. When the Tiida was launched in 2006 Nissan Australia had no choice but to drop the Pulsar name and adopt a global naming strategy orchestrated by Nissan Japan. However in the United States, the car was called the Versa.

The original Pulsar arrived here in 1981. It was credited with saving Nissan locally and subsequently launching a sub-$20,000 price fight that secured strong sales. Pulsar sales soared in the early days of the sub-$20,000 contest, but as newer, lower-cost entrants from South Korea arrived it was overwhelmed. The current Thai-built Tiida benefits from zero import duties but sales have never reached the Pulsar highs.