New Nissan Micra? No, but the Old Micra Will Stick Around in Canada

Timothy Cain
by Timothy Cain

Nissan Canada has once again confirmed to TTAC that the next-generation Nissan Micra, already on sale in some global markets, is not destined for Canada.

The existing Nissan Micra arrived in Canada in 2014, some four years after Nissan first introduced the fourth-generation Micra elsewhere. Micra production in Mexico has slowed somewhat in the early part of 2017, along with a slowdown of Versa production, as Nissan begins building the Juke-replacing Kicks at its Aguascalientes plant.

But when we asked Nissan Canada’s director of corporate communications, Didier Marsaud, whether the fourth-generation, Aguascalientes-sourced Micra will continue to be available to Nissan’s Canadian dealers, the response was definitive.

“Absolutely.”

The Micra was initially a proper success for Nissan Canada, bolstered by Micra Cup marketing, a sub-$10K advertised list price, and surprisingly jaunty on-road behavior. Nissan Canada eliminated the bargain-priced Versa sedan to make room for the Micra at the bottom of its lineup, and the decision paid off.

More than 10,000 Micras were sold in Canada in its first twelve months.

During its first full year, 2015, a total of 11,909 Micras were sold, enabling the model to outsell the Mitsubishi Mirage by more than three-to-one and the Chevrolet Spark by nearly eight-to-one. In 2015, the Micra accounted for nearly one-quarter of Nissan Canada’s passenger car volume, easily outselling every Nissan car besides the Sentra.

Not unpredictably, Micra volume tailed off in 2016 as demand for passenger cars declined precipitously. The Micra’s 29-percent drop through the early part of 2017 is even more severe.

Yet, for the time being, Nissan Canada will continue to source fourth-gen Micras from Nissan’s Aguascalientes A1 Plant.

As for Nissan customers in the United States? Not gonna happen.

Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net and a contributing analyst at The Truth About Cars and Autofocus.ca. Follow on Twitter @timcaincars.

[Images: Nissan Canada, Nissan]

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  • Ad Ad on May 28, 2017

    Poor Canadians. The new K14 looks pretty cool. This is model pretty awful, but if the only competition is the little mitsu why should Nissan worry? Canadians! Rise up (in the political sense) and demand new model Micra's now! Or just buy something else.

    • TonyJZX TonyJZX on May 28, 2017

      Yes, the new Micra looks pretty decent for a sub sub compact. I get that this kind of car has no relevance to America except for the kingdom of Quebec. Problem is its not leaving the EU until it gets built in Thailand or something. The Renault 900c turbo triple sounds like a nice thing but true to form its probably manual only.

  • Will C Will C on Mar 16, 2018

    Was looking to buy a new car this year. Looked at the Canadian website and it kept showing the old model. Now I know why, thanks! guess i wont be buying a small car from Nissan. Really sad that the "new thing" is not worth promoting here.

  • Whynotaztec Like any other lease offer it makes sense to compare it to a purchase and see where you end up. The math isn’t all that hard and sometimes a lease can make sense, sometimes it can’t. the tough part with EVs now is where is the residual or trade in value going to be in 3 years?
  • Rick T. "If your driving conditions include near-freezing temps for a few months of the year, seek out a set of all-seasons. But if sunshine is frequent and the spectre of 60F weather strikes fear into the hearts of your neighbourhood, all-seasons could be a great choice." So all-seasons it is, apparently!
  • 1995 SC Should anyone here get a wild hair and buy this I have the 500 dollar tool you need to bleed the rear brakes if you have to crack open the ABS. Given the state you will. I love these cars (obviously) but trust me, as an owner you will be miles ahead to shell out for one that was maintained. But properly sorted these things will devour highway miles and that 4.6 will run forever and should be way less of a diva than my blown 3.8 equipped one. (and forget the NA 3.8...140HP was no match for this car).As an aside, if you drive this you will instantly realize how ergonomically bad modern cars are.These wheels look like the 17's you could get on a Fox Body Cobra R. I've always had it in the back of my mind to get a set in the right bolt pattern so I could upgrade the brakes but I just don't want to mess up the ride. If that was too much to read, from someone intamately familiar with MN-12's, skip this one. The ground effects alone make it worth a pass. They are not esecially easy to work on either.
  • Macca This one definitely brings back memories - my dad was a Ford-guy through the '80s and into the '90s, and my family had two MN12 vehicles, a '93 Thunderbird LX (maroon over gray) purchased for my mom around 1995 and an '89 Cougar LS (white over red velour, digital dash) for my brother's second car acquired a year or so later. The Essex V6's 140 hp was wholly inadequate for the ~3,600 lb car, but the look of the T-Bird seemed fairly exotic at the time in a small Midwest town. This was of course pre-modern internet days and we had no idea of the Essex head gasket woes held in store for both cars.The first to grenade was my bro's Cougar, circa 1997. My dad found a crate 3.8L and a local mechanic replaced it - though the new engine never felt quite right (rough idle). I remember expecting something miraculous from the new engine and then realizing that it was substandard even when new. Shortly thereafter my dad replaced the Thunderbird for my mom and took the Cougar for a new highway commute, giving my brother the Thunderbird. Not long after, the T-Bird's 3.8L V6 also suffered from head gasket failure which spelled its demise again under my brother's ownership. The stately Cougar was sold to a family member and it suffered the same head gasket fate with about 60,000 miles on the new engine.Combine this with multiple first-gen Taurus transmission issues and a lemon '86 Aerostar and my dad's brand loyalty came to an end in the late '90s with his purchase of a fourth-gen Maxima. I saw a mid-90s Thunderbird the other day for the first time in ages and it's still a fairly handsome design. Shame the mechanicals were such a letdown.
  • FreedMike It's a little rough...😄
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