Nissan to produce new crossover based on Kicks Concept

• The official name will be Nissan Kicks
• Vehicle will be sold globally, starting with Latin America, with ongoing studies for other regions
• R$ 750 million ($192 million) investment to manufacture the model in Resende, Rio de Janeiro State
• Nissan's decision follows the concept vehicle's success during the 2014 São Paulo Motor Show and the 2015 Buenos Aires Motor Show
• 600 new jobs and second shift to be created after start of production

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Carlos Ghosn, president and chief executive officer of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., today announced that the brand will produce a new crossover that will be sold globally, starting with Latin American markets from 2016.

The new model was inspired by the Kicks Concept car presented at the 2014 Sao Paulo Motor Show, and it will retain the Kicks name for the production version.

Following an investment of R$ 750 million ($192 million), the Nissan Kicks will be produced at Nissan's Resende Industrial Complex in Rio de Janeiro State. The facility was inaugurated in 2014 and currently produces compact vehicles March and Versa. After the start of production, Nissan expects to hire 600 new employees and start a second shift in Resende facility.

"Nissan invented the first crossover in 2003, with the Murano," said Ghosn. "Since then, we've established our global crossover leadership with vehicles like JUKE, Qashqai and X-Trail – which have been great successes. The Kicks will bring Nissan´s unique Crossover expertise to more regions."

At the unveiling, José Valls, chairman of Nissan Latin America, said that compact crossovers are very attractive to Latin American customers.

"With Nissan Kicks, we will go beyond the obvious to pack a punch with a strong design statement and the performance that our customers crave," said Valls.

The Nissan Kicks Concept debuted at the 2014 São Paulo Motor Show, followed by a showing at the 2015 Buenos Aires Motor Show. The Kicks prototype 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.

As well as its introduction in Latin American markets, ­Nissan continues to study the business case for launching Kicks in other regions, underlining the brand's commitment to global Crossover leadership.

About Nissan Brazil
Nissan is one of the largest car makers in the world and present in Brazil since 2000. Operates with more than 160 dealers in all states of the country. The make produces automobiles at Nissan-Renault Alliance's plant, in São José dos Pinhais, Paraná State, since 2002, and invested U$ 1,5 billion on the construction of its own Industrial Complex in Resende, at Rio de Janeiro State. This industrial unit was opened in April 2014 and holds capacity to produce 200,000 cars and 200,000 engines per year. Per year, the industrial unit manufactures Nissan March and Nissan Versa and the flexfuel engines 1.0 12V and 1.6 16V.

Nissan is also official sponsor of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Rio 2016. This partnership contemplates the supply of 5,000 vehicles of many kinds to fill the needs of the Games and Time Brasil's. Beyond the partnership with the event, Nissan also sponsors the Olympic and Paralympic Rio 2016 Torches Relay. The participation of Nissan on the Rio 2016 Games is also guaranteed by Nissan Team, the mentoring program to 30 athletes and paratlhetes on the way for qualifying and good displays in the first Olympic and Paralympic Games hosted in Brazil. Are mentors of the group Hortência Marcari, biggest Brazilian Women's Basketball Idol, and Clodoaldo Silva, holder of 13 medals in Paralympic Games.

About Nissan Latin America
Nissan Latin America is a corporate region created in January 2014 to accelerate business growth through specific strategies designed to benefit regional consumers. Nissan LATAM spans 38 countries and two business units: Nissan do Brasil and Nissan Latinoamérica & el Caribe (NLAC). The company has wholly owned-subsidiaries in Brazil, Chile (Jan. 2015) and soon in Argentina, as well as National Sales Companies in other markets. In 2014, Nissan opened a new car manufacturing plant in Resende, Brazil, a Parts and Distribution Center and a Design Studio in Rio de Janeiro.

About Nissan Motor Co.
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Japan's second-largest automotive company, is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, and is part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Operating with more than 247,500 employees globally, Nissan sold 5.32 million vehicles and generated revenue of 11.38 trillion yen (USD 103.6 billion) in fiscal year 2014. Nissan delivers a comprehensive range of more than 60 models under the Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun brands. Nissan leads the world in zero-emission mobility, dominated by sales of the LEAF, the first mass-market, pure-electric vehicle. It is the best-selling EV in history with almost 50% share of the zero-emission vehicle segment. For more information on our products, services and commitment to sustainable mobility, visit our website at http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/.

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