[Aries]

It doesn't take a genius to read the writing on the wall -- CUVs are the hottest segment in the automotive industry right now, and they don't show any signs of slowing down. The growth in CUV sales over the past few years has been staggering. In 2015, sales grew 57 percent over the previous year, so you'd be crazy as an automaker to not compete in this segment.

It shouldn't come as much of a surprise then that Nissan's Vice President of Product Strategy Pierre Loing recently told Car and Driver that the company will be looking to add two more sub-Rogue sized CUVs to it's American lineup this year.

This statement all but confirms the Qashqai's introduction to the US market. It's already Nissan's best selling model in Europe so the company has reason to expect it to do well in the American market.

The other CUV is a little bit more of a mystery. It will likely be a replacement for the Juke which looks like fun, but isnt selling that well, as sales were down 29 percent last year finishing at 27,121 units. There are two possibilities for it's replacement.

Nissan Kicks Concept

The first is a production version of the Kicks concept that debuted in Sao Paulo in 2014. That vehicle has already been confirmed for release in the South American market.

The other possibility is a production version of the Gripz concept which was first seen at the Frankfurt Motor Show last September.

Do you think this makes the Qashqai a sure thing for the American market?

 

[NissanDriver]

Kicks will be a great replacement for the Juke, it seems to fit in perfectly with the CX-3 and what it rivals, by the looks of it, CX-3 and Kicks could be the most exciting in the segment.

 

[Aries]

I find the Gripz to be more exciting in terms of design, but regardless I think that Nissan is smart to replace the Juke with something that is slightly less stylized. It will still look great, but it will also appeal to more people.

 

[NissanDriver]

I find the Gripz to be more exciting in terms of design, but regardless I think that Nissan is smart to replace the Juke with something that is slightly less stylized. It will still look great, but it will also appeal to more people.

Well they have to, just look at when the Juke came out and what the market is like now for vehicles sized like it. If they don't make these changes they'll be burning money and leaving a TON on the table.

 

[Aries]

There are many that like the Juke though. Do you think that they will replace it, or just add another model to give s more conservative option?

 

[NissanDriver]

There are many that like the Juke though. Do you think that they will replace it, or just add another model to give s more conservative option?

Exaclty what models are like the Juke? I haven't seen any.

 

[Sashimi]

Design wise? None but there are a lot of CUVs these days.

 

[Aries]

Exaclty what models are like the Juke? I haven't seen any.

I meant that there are many people who like the Juke. In terms of other models, the only thing that comes to mind is the Lexus NX, but it is much more expensive.

 

[NissanDriver]

I meant that there are many people who like the Juke. In terms of other models, the only thing that comes to mind is the Lexus NX, but it is much more expensive.

Lexus NX in segments way above it. How did you make that connection? What similarities do they have?

 

[Aries]

Lexus NX in segments way above it. How did you make that connection? What similarities do they have?

Relatively small CUVs with pretty distinct styling.

 

[NissanDriver]

Still doesn't take away from the fact its in segments way above, making it irrelevant here. Best to pull something as an example within its segment or close.

 

[Aries]

I wasn't even referring to models like the Juke in the first place. You misinterpreted my post, and then I responded with the only thing that came to mind and said explicitly that it is quite a bit upmarket from the Juke. So I'm not really sure where you are going with this. I was only saying that people like the Juke. I'm not sure if they will completely get rid of it.

 

[Aries]

And I also just saw this in the news about a Juke rival being produced by VW.

According to a recent report, the German automaker will debut the Volkswagen T-Cross concept at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, an entry-level crossover based on the Polo. Sources say the model will head into production in 2018, giving Volkswagen a competitor to models like the Mazda CX-3 and Nissan Juke.

It is believed that the T-Cross concept will be a sibling to the larger T-Roc that debuted in 2014 and was based on the Volkswagen Golf. The production T-Roc is expected to arrive showrooms by 2017.

 

[NissanDriver]

They just better get it right when bringing it over to the North American market, they've been known to not fully understand the NA Market.

 

[Aries]

They do have some new leadership so maybe that will make a difference.

 

[NissanDriver]

That will help. Plus there's a lot of examples on the road of what works and what doesn't, shouldn't be too hard to figure out what will/wont work.

 

[Aries]

That will help. Plus there's a lot of examples on the road of what works and what doesn't, shouldn't be too hard to figure out what will/wont work.

but they have been pretty arrogant and unwilling to learn from that evidence in the past.

 

[NissanDriver]

True, i remember reading up on how they didn't care to do market research as much as other brands when getting into the American market, even till now I think.

 

[Aries]

I read that the government is asking them to make electric cars for the US. Government might have some leverage on them at this point.

 

[NissanDriver]

Yeah but that typically has a time frame attached to it, so knowing those details go a long way in knowing at what point must car makers come online with EV's and vehicles just as green. That's the starting point to this.