Nissan Kicks SUV confirmed, ‘global’ launch planned

Car Scoop also reported that the company is conducting studies on marketing the Kicks Crossover to other regions beyond Latin America. Given the boom India is facing in the compact SUV segment, it’s fair to say that the Nissan could potentially consider bringing the Kicks to India.

The production model will be built at the company’s Resende Industrial Complex in Brazil following an investment of $192 million.

In a statement, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said “Nissan invented the first crossover in 2003, with the Murano”.

Nissan won’t be taking the wraps off the official production version until later this year but promises that the Kicks will have more in common with the concept cousin than just a nameplate. Today, Nissan announced that it has given the green light to a production version of the Kicks crossover. “Since then, we’ve established our global crossover leadership with vehicles like JUKE, Qashqai and X-Trail – which have been great successes”.

He said 2015 has not been a good year for Brazil but Nissan had nevertheless expanded its share of the market even with lower sales.

The Kicks project was led by Nissan’s Global Design Centre in Japan but featured involvement from Nissan’s San Diego- and Rio-based design teams. Along with the planned manufacturing of the Crossover is the marketing target of selling it globally, specially across the Latin America region.

“When our team from Nissan Brazil team collaborated with our colleagues in Japan to create the Kicks concept vehicle, which was inspired by our country and culture, the result was extraordinary”, said Francois Dossa, president of Nissan Brazil.

Nissan has also confirmed that the Kicks name will be retained for that model, and it is unlikely that the successful Juke badge would be dropped.

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