The launch of the Kicks compact SUV in India is going to be an important stepping-stone in the plans for the revival of the Nissan brand in India. The Japanese automaker is banking on its expansive SUV heritage to bring customers to its dealerships which have been away for quite some time now.
The last all-new product from Nissan in India was seen way back in 2013 in the form of the Terrano SUV. The all-new Kicks, based on the same platform and using the same powertrain options aims at exploiting the demand for compact urban soft-roaders in our country.
Nissan India Vice President (Marketing) Peter Clissold told PTI “We (Nissan) have got great SUV heritage and DNA. It seems appropriate that the first vehicle in our renaissance is an SUV,”
Upon launch, the Nissan Kicks is going to compete with the likes of Hyundai Creta. The later has been the unquestionable leader in the compact SUV segment in India. The same currently commands a segment dominance of close to 50 per cent.
In addition to launching the Kicks SUV in India, Nissan is also planning to launch several other utility vehicles. That said, it is not only SUVs which are going to command the automaker’s portfolio.
Clissold said, “I wouldn’t say exclusively SUV, but we will leverage on our strong SUV credentials as we look at the product plans in India. I expect to see an expansion of SUV line up, but Nissan isn’t an SUV brand exclusively, including in India.”
Nissan currently also has another brand, Datsun in India. While Nissan is going to aim solely at segments with premium and semi-premium cars, Datsun products will focus on the demand in the compact segments.
Coming back to the Nissan Kicks, this compact SUV has been designed and developed specifically for the Indian market. Based on the same platform as that of the Terrano, it even shares the same engine specifications with the later.
In order to woo customers in the compact segment and to compete with the competition, Nissan has provided the Kicks with several segment first features. For instance, it comes with soft-touch materials on the dashboard while there is a 360-degree parking camera also on offer.
The Nissan Kicks SUV is going to launch in India during the month of January 2018. Its prices are expected to fall in-between the range of INR 9 lakh to 15 lakh.
Source
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