Nissan Kicks small SUV being rolled out to more markets, Australia under consideration

The Nissan Kicks is kicking on, with the all-new small SUV now being confirmed for launch in the UK and Europe – leaving Australia among a vanishingly small number of markets to not offer the model.

“We are examining the business case for the new-generation Nissan Kicks for the Australian market, but at this stage we don’t have anything further to share regarding its potential introduction,” said a Nissan Australia spokesperson.

This comes after Nissan overnight announced it would invest £170 million (A$320.2m) in its Sunderland plant in the UK to build the model for both that market and Europe in e-Power hybrid guise.

The second-generation small SUV is already built in three other countries: Mexico and Brazil, for sale across different markets in the Americas; and Japan, for the Japanese market.

The first-generation Kicks also continues to be produced in Thailand and Taiwan for various Asian markets. An updated version of this vehicle, called the Kait, is built and sold alongside the second-generation Kicks in Brazil.

That leaves precious few markets without a Kicks of some description in Nissan showrooms, including Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

The second-generation Kicks entered production first in Mexico in 2024, with the Japanese-built model – which would appear the most likely to be sold here – only debuting in 2026.

Based on a version of the Juke's CMF-B chassis architecture, it measures 4365mm long, 1800mm wide and 1610-1615mm tall on a 2655mm wheelbase. That makes it 60mm shorter, 35mm narrower and 10-15mm lower than the Qashqai, with a 10mm shorter wheelbase.

The e-Power series-hybrid powertrain uses a 1.4-litre three-cylinder engine that powers a 105kW/315Nm electric motor instead of sending drive to the wheels; all-wheel drive variants add a 50kW/140Nm rear motor.

Nissan has also revealed a more rugged-looking Rock Creek version, while petrol-powered Kicks variants are available in some global markets with turbocharged 1.0-litre three-cylinder and naturally aspirated 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engines.

The Kicks is offered with a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system, while there's a full suite of available active safety and driver-assist technology including active blind-spot assist and a surround-view camera, plus ProPilot which combines adaptive cruise control and lane-centring functionality.

Should it be introduced here, the Kicks would take the spot of the Juke that was axed in Australia early this year. A third-generation Juke is entering production in the UK, but it’ll be offered only with electric power and has thus far been ruled out for our market.

But the Kicks has potential to cannibalise sales of the Qashqai, which has become increasingly expensive and decreasingly popular.

When asked about the future of the UK-built small SUV in our market, a Nissan Australia spokesperson said “it continues to play an important and ongoing role in our model portfolio”.

Sales of the Qashqai have slumped by 72.8 per cent in Australia year-to-date, amid the axing of more affordable petrol-powered variants and the changeover to an updated e-Power hybrid.

Last year, Nissan Australia delivered just 4478 Qashqais, around a third of the volume this model was generating a decade ago.

Nissan moved to a hybrid-only lineup for the Qashqai for 2026, coinciding with the introduction of the brand's upgraded e-Power drivetrain. This saw the base price jump by more than $10,000 despite the introduction of the new base ST-L e-Power.

Following the axing of the Juke and petrol-powered Qashqai variants, the larger X-Trail mid-size SUV is now Nissan's most affordable model in Australia. It's priced from $38,305 before on-road costs in petrol-powered ST guise.

While Nissan Australia is expected to tap the Chinese Dongfeng Nissan joint venture for new models to offer here, including the Navara Pro plug-in hybrid (PHEV) ute, there are no small SUVs built in right-hand drive and arguably none suitable for our market.

Dongfeng Nissan still sells the first-generation Kicks in China, plus a facelifted version of the previous-generation Qashqai.

In markets such as India and South Africa, Nissan fields a couple of different SUVs at this end of the market: the smaller Magnite, which is just under four metres long; and the Tekton, launched this year as a lightly restyled Dacia/Renault Duster.

While the Kicks is an unknown name here, Nissan has sold over 1.8 million examples across more than 70 countries since it started building the small SUV in 2016.

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