Nissan Kicks still in play for Australia

Nissan Australia is still weighing up the new-generation Kicks small SUV, with local boss Steve Milette saying a more affordable entry-level SUV is of “great interest” following news the model will be built in right-hand drive in Japan and the United Kingdom.

Nissan recently announced it will invest £170 million (about $A320 million) in its Sunderland factory to build the Kicks e-POWER for the UK and Europe.

Asked whether that tingled his spidey senses, Nissan Oceania managing director Steve Milette said it was no surprise internally.

“When they made the announcement, it wasn’t a surprise to any of us in the company,” he said. “If your question is, is it of interest to us? Of course. I think a more entry-level SUV is of great interest to us.”

The Canadian-born former GM and long-time Nissan exec said the full business case needed to factor in compliance and sourcing, with the Kicks built in multiple plants around the globe.

“As far as Kicks is concerned, we’re still evaluating if it makes sense.

“The full business case to make it compliant [is ongoing] and it’s built in two different plants and so would it make sense? So, these are all things that we’re looking at,” he said.

Nissan senior corporate communications manager Angus Thompson confirmed the Kicks was being “actively investigated”.

Just don’t expect the Kicks to arrive as a QASHQAI replacement.

Despite a sales slump, Nissan says it’s sticking with its UK-built small SUV for now.

If you were hoping for a super-cheap Nissan Tekton, don’t hold your breath. Milette said the reworked and restyled Renault/Dacia Duster, sold in markets such as India and South Africa, was unlikely to come to Australia.

Readers with long memories will recall we’ve been here before. When the first-generation Kicks was revealed in 2016, Nissan Australia said it was “not confirmed for the Australian market at this time”.

Or the plenty of time thereafter – at least a decade.

This time, the gap in Nissan’s line-up is more glaring and with more challenger brands entering the market need for an affordable small SUV to get buyers into dealerships is more urgent.

The Nissan Juke has been axed and the QASHQAI is down 72.8% year-to-date to 926 sales, leaving Nissan with little to offer price-sensitive small SUV buyers.

Meanwhile, the sub-$45K small SUV segment is up 10.4% year-to-date to 121,109 sales, led by the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro (17,806), Hyundai Kona (16,916) and GWM Haval Jolion (15,033). That’s a lot of buyers Nissan currently can’t talk to.

The new Kicks uses a version of the Juke’s CMF-B platform and, in e-POWER form, a 1.4-litre three-cylinder engine acting purely as a generator for a 105kW/315Nm electric motor.

At 4365mm long with a 2655mm wheelbase, the Nissan Kicks is a touch smaller than the QASHQAI in every dimension and squares up to the Mazda CX-30, Toyota Corolla Cross, Honda HR-V and Subaru Crosstrek.

With production already up and running in Japan, that’s the most likely source of any Aussie-bound Kicks.

Nissan hasn’t committed to the Kicks – at least on the record – and pricing would be crucial against aggressively priced Chinese rivals. But with right-hand-drive production now in Japan and soon the UK, and a gaping hole at the bottom of the range, the stars are aligning better than they did a decade ago.

For now, the cheapest way into a new Nissan is a mid-size SUV, the X-TRAIL ST at $38,305 before on-road costs.

If the numbers stack up, the Kicks could be the affordable entry point Nissan has been missing.

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