Beijing 2012: Venucia, the new brand from Nissan for China

At the Beijing Motor Show, a three-box saloon was shown under the Venucia badge, which will be part of the joint venture between Nissan and Dongfeng for the Asian market. The first model resulting from this collaboration will be the D50, the car you have in front of you.

The Venucia D50 will not be a “typical” Chinese car; it will be almost a Nissan in its own right, since the production of the model will adhere to international quality standards, now that Nissan can take part in the manufacturing process, according to the statement released in Beijing.

The goal of this new D50 is to sell more than one million units a year, and Dongfeng says it is in a position to launch a new model every year, with the support of Nissan, of course. Dongfeng is not very well known in the West, but it is the spearhead of many other Western brands in the Chinese market, since in addition to producing its own products, it has various alliances with Kia, Honda, the PSA Group and Nissan-Renault.

The other new vehicle presented, which will also be part of the Venucia brand, will be an electric car based on the Nissan Leaf, which Dongfeng has cleverly named e-concept. This electric car will be built entirely in China, with Nissan technology, and sales will begin in 2015.