benyl
10-03-2005, 08:27 PM
http://www.autoweek.com/images/news/103275
0/3/05
Nissan plans to sell the boxy Cube car in the United States, along with the Versa small car.
The new cars will compete in the growing budget-car segment that includes Scion. Nissan North America Inc. last week announced that it will build the Versa hatchback and sedan at its plant in Aguascalientes, Mexico.
Nissan has not announced formally that it will sell the Japan-market Cube in this country. Sources inside and outside the company say it is scheduled to go on sale in 2008.
The sources requested anonymity because Nissan does not officially discuss future products.
The Cube sold in the United States will be the next generation of the Cube now sold in Japan.
Jed Connelly, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Nissan North America, declined to discuss the Cube directly.
The current-generation Cube has distinctive boxy lines.
"The arrival of Versa has not changed Nissan's thinking on bringing a vehicle similar to the Cube to the United States," Connelly said. "What exactly we do in the segment will unfold over the next couple of years."
Sources says the Cube, which looks similar to the Scion xB, has the code name YY, and has projected first-year U.S. sales of about 40,000 units. They are not sure if it will be produced in Mexico or exported from Japan.
"We have the Cube on our forecast, and I am confident it will be offered here," says Alan Baum, director of automotive forecasting at Planning Edge, a consulting firm in Birmingham, Mich.
"Nissan wants to be a player in the small-car segment and is very well positioned to go after vehicles like the Scion xB and the Honda Element. The only question we have is will it be produced in Aguascalientes? They don't seem to have the capacity there."
0/3/05
Nissan plans to sell the boxy Cube car in the United States, along with the Versa small car.
The new cars will compete in the growing budget-car segment that includes Scion. Nissan North America Inc. last week announced that it will build the Versa hatchback and sedan at its plant in Aguascalientes, Mexico.
Nissan has not announced formally that it will sell the Japan-market Cube in this country. Sources inside and outside the company say it is scheduled to go on sale in 2008.
The sources requested anonymity because Nissan does not officially discuss future products.
The Cube sold in the United States will be the next generation of the Cube now sold in Japan.
Jed Connelly, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Nissan North America, declined to discuss the Cube directly.
The current-generation Cube has distinctive boxy lines.
"The arrival of Versa has not changed Nissan's thinking on bringing a vehicle similar to the Cube to the United States," Connelly said. "What exactly we do in the segment will unfold over the next couple of years."
Sources says the Cube, which looks similar to the Scion xB, has the code name YY, and has projected first-year U.S. sales of about 40,000 units. They are not sure if it will be produced in Mexico or exported from Japan.
"We have the Cube on our forecast, and I am confident it will be offered here," says Alan Baum, director of automotive forecasting at Planning Edge, a consulting firm in Birmingham, Mich.
"Nissan wants to be a player in the small-car segment and is very well positioned to go after vehicles like the Scion xB and the Honda Element. The only question we have is will it be produced in Aguascalientes? They don't seem to have the capacity there."