Nissan to Kick up a storm with new compact crossover

Nissan has announced it will introduce a new compact crossover model based on the Kicks Concept car presented at the 2014 Sao Paulo Motor Show.

The production model, which will retain the Kicks name, will first launch in Latin American markets before being sold globally.

José Valls, chairman of Nissan Latin America, said the Nissan Kicks will “go beyond the obvious to pack a punch with a strong design statement…”.

The Kicks prototype (below) marked the evolution of the Extrem concept vehicle originally presented in Sao Paulo in 2012. Since then, Nissan has continued to explore Brazilian and Latin American cultures, styles and colors within the vehicle design and development process.

“When our team from Nissan Brazil team collaborated with our colleagues in Japan to create the Kicks concept vehicle, which was inspired by our country and culture, the result was extraordinary,” said Francois Dossa, president of Nissan Brazil.

“And now, we’re excited that our manufacturing team in Resende is preparing to build it with top-notch Japanese precision.”

Led by Nissan’s Global Design Center in Japan, the Kicks Concept was conceived through a collaboration between Nissan Design America (NDA) in San Diego and Nissan Design America – Rio (NDA-R), the company’s local satellite design studio. The teams currently are engaged in the design and development of the production model.