Nissan Greenlights Kicks for Latin America, Why Not Sell It In The US?

by Aaron Cole

Updated: November 18th, 2020 Published: January 5th, 2016

nissan greenlights kicks for latin america why not sell it in the us

Nissan said it will produce a vehicle based on the Kicks Concept car shown at the Sao Paulo Auto Show in 2014. It will be sold globally, beginning in Latin America this year.

CEO Carlos Ghosn said the car appeals to Latin American markets that prefer compact crossovers. You know who else buys compact crossovers? You, and everyone else you know, apparently.

According to several reports, the Kicks would fit into the automaker’s lineup between the smaller Juke and larger Qashqai. Is there a hole for crossover sales between our Juke and Rogue? There’s only one way to find out.

Nissan said the Kicks would be produced in Brazil at its new Resende facility that also produces the March and Versa. In case you’re wondering, the automaker’s plant in Aguascalientes, Mexico also produces the March/Micra and Versa — alongside the Sentra — so they may have a few tools to fit the Kick around there too.

From history, we know Nissan isn’t afraid to take a risk on something completely different — but any crossover right now is far from a risky bet.

#Aguascalientes #Brazil #Crossovers #Kicks #LatinAmerica #Nissan

Aaron Cole

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Victor on Jan 05, 2016

It is quite laughable - and yet very sad - that every time a new crapwagon comes up in the third world, someone here asks about why it is not sold in the US. It happened with the Chevrolet Montana, then with the Fiat Strada, the Ecosport and even the airbag-free, safe as a shopping cart, Trollet T4. The US market gets the best and cheapest cars in the world. Half of the fun of migrating to the US resides in buying a used BMW or Audi and then sharing on facebook. Or big, big SUVs - the average "SUV" here is Ecosport-sized. Yet our crap somehow seems to be quite attractive to some of you. The "Kicks" - what an indiotic name, btw - will be yet another mini-SUV, this time based on the March platform. The same March that Latin NCAP proved more fragile on an impact than Europe's Micra. And of course it'll go for over 70k Reais. Because, why not?... So, rest assured, people of the better end of America, the "Kicks" won't make it to your nearest Nissan dealership, simply because it sucks.

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- John Williams on Jan 06, 2016
  
  It's the Forbidden Fruit syndrome. We're so used to our own automotive offerings that the stuff we can't have seems more appealing to us. It also helps that some automakers have nary a clue as to what really gets our gears turning in the U.S. (paging VW). This wouldn't be a problem if the U.S. was a regulationless, free-for-all country where people can buy practically any car they want from any market. People can finally get what they want - and then learn why the grass on the other side isn't always greener.
  
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- Victor on Jan 06, 2016
  
  @John Williams Yes, and the US grass is mostly greener, specially when it comes to cars.
  
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MRF 95 T-Bird on Jan 05, 2016

A few years ago I was visiting Corsica and rode in and borrowed a friends Qashqai. It is sized closed to the Murano but has the off-road capability of a SUV with a center locking differential and beefier suspension vs the Altima based Murano.

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