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. Introduced at the 2014 Sao Paulo Motor Show, the production version of the concept, which will retain the Kicks name, will begin rolling off the assembly line by year’s end.
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So far Nissan has released just one teaser image, but we have reason to believe the Kicks concept (featured in our gallery) offers an accurate glimpse of what the finished product will look like.
Like with the study, the production version will be designed and developed by Nissan’s Global Design Center and Nissan Design America studios in San Diego and Rio, its local satellite outfit. Nissan plans to invest $192 million into the facility before Kicks production. The plant was inaugerated in 2014 and now produces compact cars like the Latin American Nissan Micra. “Since then, we’ve established our global crossover leadership with vehicles like JUKE, Qashqai and X-Trail – which have been great successes”.
“Nissan will build a new vehicle, the Nissan Kicks” at its factory in Resende, west of Rio de Janeiro, said the group’s chief executive Carlos Ghosn.
“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. With similar dimensions, this would place the production Kicks alongside models like the Fiat 500X.
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Nissan has been strengthening its presence in Latin America and consolidated its subsidiaries in Chile and Argentina a year ago, Ghosn said, adding that the company unveiled a $600 million investment in Argentina to build a plant at a Renault industrial complex, where pick-up trucks will be built. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
