After having intially announced the planned build – from January 2015 – of the recently redesigned ‘monovolume’ [Versa] Note small MPV at its new assembly plant under construction in Resende, it now appears there has been a change of mind at Nissan’s Brazilian unit.
Nissan would not comment but there are strong rumours locally that the automaker now plans instead to build a compact SUV based on the Extrem concept.
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The reason appears to be based on better balancing the use of plants in both North and South America to supply the various regional markets.
Nissan Brazil currently imports the Versa saloon (the plant already builds the Versa Note variant for NAFTA) and Micra from Mexico, which has a free trade agreement with Brazil, albeit with some mutually agreed limits on just how many cars Brazil will allow in.
Nissan Brazil’s thinking now apparently is that switching Micra and Versa sourcing in January 2014 from Mexico to their new 200,000 unit plant in Resende, 160km/100 miles northwest of Rio de Janeiro – with the Versa Note due in production from January 2015 to replace the Livina line currently built by alliance partner Renault’s São José dos Pinhais plant in Paraná state – would leave too much of a ‘production vacuum’ at the Mexican subsidiary. Therefore the rationale now is to supply Brazil with the March and Versa saloon from Resende but import the Versa Note from Mexico under the FTA instead of building it in Brazil as first planned.
Compact SUVs and pseudo-SUV spinoffs of mainstream B-segment hatchbacks sell well in Brazil and export markets (Ford’s EcoSport was designed there) and Nissan does not yet have a competitor in its line.
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By GlobalDataThe Extrem concept was designed in Nissan’s Brazilian studio and shown at the São Paulo motor show almost a year ago. It is understood start of production is scheduled for 2016 and the model will be built on the flexible Renault-Nissan V platform that also underpins the March and Versa.
So far, Nissan has declined to comment on its future plans.
The compact SUV will be one of eight new models Nissan plans to lauch here, imports included, by 2016.
Alliance CEO Carlos Ghosn recently admitted the Datsun sub-brand could also be produced here.
But, when asked at the Frankfurt show earlier this month, he said nothing about date and volume and that the brand would certainly not be launched before 2017.
