Global crossover will launch first in the Latin American markets.
Nissan has announced that the Kicks concept unveiled at the 2014 Sao Paulo Auto Show will go into production and start arriving in showrooms later this year. The company has also released a teaser that shows a small portion of the rear end.
When the Kicks concept was unveiled, Nissan claimed that it "will go beyond the obvious" and feature a "strong design statement" as well "the performance that our customers crave". The car's design is a work of Nissan Design America, Nissan Design America Rio and Nissan's Global Design Center in Japan.
Although not confirmed, the engine reported to power the Nissan Kicks is a 1.8-liter Flex engine mated to a manual gearbox or a CVT. It is also reported to be based on the V-Platform underpinning the Nissan Sunny (Nissan Versa), Nissan March (Nissan Micra), and Nissan Note.
Nissan has stated that market studies are underway for the the Kicks globally. So far, the company has only confirmed its launch for the Latin American markets. The model will be built at the company's Resende Industrial Complex in Brazil, which builds other V-Platform models, with an investment of 750 million Brazilian real (INR 1235.76 crore). The production of the car will lead to 600 new jobs.
Also Read: 2017 Nissan Micra inspired by Nissan Sway concept
Given that Nissan is one of the official sponsors of the 2016 Olympics in Rio, the Nissan Kicks is likely to make its debut at the event in August.
Production-spec Nissan Kicks announced - Press Release
[Slideshare link]
