Nissan is using the world's greatest sporting spectacle as the coming out party for its Kicks compact SUV. Yes! As the world focuses on the 2016 Rio Olympics, Nissan has kicked off sales of the Kicks in Brazil. And with the Indian consumers' interest in compact and subcompact SUVs, it makes sense for Nissan to not only get the Kicks to India but to make it here as well. Here are four reasons why we think that strategy will work.
1. The Kicks makes use of Renault-Nissan's Common Modular Family-B or CMF-B platform, which will also spawn the next generation Micra and Sunny. We hope that Nissan plans to bring us those cars too! There is talk of how India may not get the global Micra, but instead a Micra-like hatchback that's specific to our market. It too will use the CMF-B platform though. If the platform is shared amongst the aforementioned cars, then components and parts will shared from the same bin as well. There will then be no need to create a separate assembly line for the Kicks. The engines (1.6-litre petrol and 1.5-litre diesel) currently doing duty on the Sunny and the Terrano will be powering the Kicks in global markets too. This means existing drivetrains can continue to be used to enhance economies of scale.
The 2017 Nissan Kicks shares its underpinnings with the next generation Micra and Sunny
2. Indians love SUVs, not in the true sense of the acronym but they have shown a penchant for anything that looks the part, with more muscle, ride height or a crossover sort of styling rather than a simple hatchback or a sedan. This could be another reason why we may not get the Micra at all, and just get the Kicks - like how Ford dropped the Fiesta hatchback plan for India, and concentrated on the EcoSport instead. That car along with the Vitara Brezza, and the TUV 300 could do with some competition too! Plus, there is no product from Nissan to slot in right below the Terrano at the moment - an area that the company desperately needs a volumes product. More models in the portfolio would also likely enhance sales. Plus as we already said, the segment is such that more and more players are diving right into it to get a share of the compact/sub-compact SUV pie.
3. The Nissan Kicks looks really sharp and the overall styling and design language will sit well with Indian buyers. There are a lot of features that the Kicks boasts such as a 7-inch infotainment system, automatic climate control and 4 cameras to help park and manoeuvre the car through tight spots. Indians love cars with lots of features and gadgets.
The Nissan Kicks goes on sale in Brazil
4. Nissan hasn't really set the Indian 4-wheeler market on fire. The Sunny started well, then faltered, while the Terrano couldn't come out of the Duster's shadow. The Micra - though very capable - has also misfired. The brand really needs a solid model that can infuse energy and enthusiasm into its Indian operations, and the Kicks could be that vehicle.
The Nissan Kicks will be first launched in Brazil this month and then might come to India towards the middle of 2017. At present, it will be manufactured at Nissan's plant in Resende, Brazil and will cater only to the Latin American markets. We at carandbike strongly advocate the manufacturing plan to subsequently include India - sooner than later, so that Nissan can catch some of the buzz in a segment that is still relatively sparse in terms of model lineup.
