Nissan’s Micra B-segment hatch is set to be given a boost in terms of quality in its next iteration. According to Chief Performance Officer at Nissan Europe, Trevor Mann, the current Micra suffered from “perceived quality” problems and it was not about where it was built.
It will sport a more serious look, doing away with the bubbly design, it’s also said to be bigger than the current Micra. The new Micra will likely have the same sharp design based on the Nissan Sway concept and now, attention to detail will be a key area of Nissan’s focus when the company starts building the new Micra.
Mann threw his weight behind the Micra’s place of production – India. “I don’t think you can blame India for the perception of quality,” he said. “You’ve got to blame the people who defined the product. The Micra’s not like that because it’s made in India.”
He added, “we have listened to feedback and I think you will see a
big difference,” addressing the issue of perception. Mann did not deny
that production of the Micra could be moved back to Nissan’s plant in
Sunderland, UK – the same plant that produces another compact, the Nissan Note, Qashqai, Juke and Infiniti’s upcoming premium compact, the Q30. Production plans however would require further consideration on the viability of such a move according to Mann, “as for Sunderland, it was always a plant that was designed to be flexible And it can make Micra. The debate is whether it can make it and make sense,” he said.
Meanwhile, as the Nissan Micra was moving up a size, Mann hinted that there was a possibility that another segment could spawn from it – a smaller city car. However he said this would be dependent on whether there was huge demand for this segment or not in Europe.
