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