Nissan playing around with next-generation Tiida (EU)

Nissan Europe is playing with the idea of altering the forthcoming Tiida compact family car for European sales. If given the green light, the Tiida will go on sale alongside the Qashqai. Originally, the Qashqai was intended to replace the slow-selling Almera until Nissan introduced the Tiida into certain European markets like Spain, Portugal, Russia, Germany and Ireland. The Tiida has been popular in the UK via grey-imports from Ireland.

The problem is to give the new model sufficient distinct character to rival the Vauxhall/Opel Astra, Honda Civic, Volkswagen Golf and Mitsubishi Lancer, while allowing Nissan to make profit. Additionally, not pinching sales from the Qashqai is another requirement, an insider said.

The current Tiida is the replacement for the Nissan Sunny and is marketed as the Nissan Versa in North America (U.S/Canada). The Tiida/Versa was launched in 2004 in Japan and came with 1.6 litre and 1.8 litre petrol engines, and a 1.5 litre dCi diesel for the European market.

The Nissan LEAF EV is largely based on the Tiida platform.

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2007 Nissan Versa sedan

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