Nissan Kicks to Debut at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Might Come to India
New Delhi: Nissan had announced its plan of manufacturing a budget crossover for the growing markets including Brazil and other South American countries. Called the Nissan Kicks, the compact SUV might make its public debut on the inaugural day of the Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games starting from May 3, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro state. Being official car of the event, the Nissan Kicks will lead the torch relay convoy across 300 cities and towns of Brazil. With an investment of R$750 million, the Nissan’s new crossover will be produced at the Resende Industrial Complex in Rio de Janerio State.
The Nissan Kicks is based on the Kicks concept that was unveiled at the 2014 Sao Paulo Auto Show. This concept was designed under alliance of Nissan Design America (NDA) San Diego, California and Nissan Design America (NDA-R) – the company’s Brazil-based design studio satellite. The entire concept design project was lead by Nissan’s Global Design Center in Japan.
Speculations are on rife that the Nissan Kicks might also make its way to India. Though, there is no official confirmation about its India launch yet. If launched, the Nissan new crossover will compete against the Renault Duster, Hyundai Creta and others in the league. The production version of the compact SUV will be powered by a 1.6-litre flex-fuel (petrol/ethanol) engine that is produced at Nissan’s Resende-based Brazil plant.
If reports are to be believed, the Kicks crossover will be based on Nissan’s V-platform that also underpins the Nissan Sunny and Nissan Micra hatchback. Similar to its concept, the production-ready version could feature conventional SUV styling traits with high ground clearance and muscular front and rear bumpers. The car might also get Nissan’s V-shaped front grille, which we have already seen on the Micra hatchback. The Nissan Kicks concept SUV measures 4,300 meters in length. The company, however, could trim it to achieve four meters length for the Indian market. This will allow the car to avail the tax benefits offered on sub-4 metre cars in the country.
Nissan Kicks compact SUV might come to India
