RESENDE, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Nissan Kicks made in Brazil will soon be on Argentinean roads. The first batch of 933 units of the global crossover has just been shipped from Nissan's Industrial Complex in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and are now heading for the neighboring country. The first Kicks shipment is a major milestone for Nissan in Latin America and an important moment for the Brazilian plant's export strategy.
The initial batch of Kicks will be available at Argentinean dealerships in the beginning of 2018. Approximately 4,000 units of this record sales crossover are planned to hit the neighboring country's stores during the next six months. Made in Brazil with Japanese quality and technology, the model will replace the Kicks made in Mexico, which was sold in Argentina since June 2017 until now.
Argentina is the first Latin American country to receive Kicks, which has been made in Rio de Janeiro State since April 2017. The cars will travel approximately 2,410 km by land and sea starting at the Nissan Resende plant. The journey includes the Port of Rio de Janeiro and the Delta Dock Port in the town of Lima, in the Buenos Aires Province. From there, the units will be distributed across the Nissan dealer network in Argentina.
Nissan Kicks is the brand's best-selling model in Brazil, and it has been a success in Argentina in just six months of sales there. Inspired by the lifestyle of Latin American consumers, the Kicks crossover was globally launched in August 2016 during the Olympic Games. Since then, more than 40,000 units have been sold in 22 countries of the region. The shipment of this model for the Argentinean market sets a new beginning for the Brazilian Nissan Kicks towards other countries of the region.
"Nissan's Resende Industrial Complex was built to meet the demands of domestic and Latin America (LATAM) markets," said Hitoshi Mano, Divisional VP Monozukuri LATAM. "The plant is stepping up production capabilities to subsidize the advance of the brand's footprint in this region. By sending the Kicks to Argentina, we are consolidating Nissan Brazil's exports program while also boosting production to supply the increasing demand of Brazilian products. This is a major step towards placing Resende among the automotive industry's top export hubs."
The export program at Nissan's Resende Complex already covers eight markets in the region: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. Argentina receives approximately 44% of the cars exported from Resende, and this figure will increase with the beginning of exports of Kicks. The Nissan March and Nissan Versa are part of this program and Versa currently represents 57 percent of Resende's total exports.
The global sales Nissan Kicks was launch in Brazil, followed by other Latin American markets, besides countries such as China, the United Arab Emirates and the United States, where its sales will start in 2018. The global crossover will be introduced in more than 80 countries.
Contact
Alexandre Carvalho
alexandre.carvalho@nissan.com.br
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