Nissan wants new model to be “better than Volkswagen Golf”
Nissan has just revealed, through the voice of its senior vice president, Andy Palmer, that it wants to create another C segment model, targeted at the most popular contender, the Volkswagen Golf.
This is all part of Nissan’s plan to be present in 90% of the current global market. It is currently occupying only 84%, and has expressed its desire to build on the presence of the existing hatchback model, the Almera (pictured above).
“To date, we have grown by circumnavigating the competition very successfully with cars like the Qashqai, but to go further we will have to tackle the market head on,” he said. “The C segment is an obvious growth area. The Qashqai and Juke will take sales in that market, but tackling it head on means building a car that is better than the VW Golf. That’s the challenge we have set ourselves. That project is a long term goal, but it is underway.”
Without a doubt the Nissan Juke compact crossover will definitely be an odd presence in the C segment, but if it truly wants to take down the VW Golf, it needs a proper hatchback, catered for a broader audience, unlike the Juke’s young, single, urban niche.
Do you think the Japanese company has what it takes to release a worthy rival for cars like the Golf or the Focus? Share your thoughts below.
Source: Autocar
Post tags: Tags: c segment, hatchback, Nissan, nissan juke, Volkswagen, volkswagen-golf
I’d argue that if you took reliability and cost of ownership into consideration the Nissan is already better.
The Juke would have had to be a “proper hatchback, catered for a broader audience” if Nissan intended it to be a competitor for the base model Golf, but I think Nissan had their sights set on competing with the GTI specifically. No matter, though, since Nissan’s Juke is outselling the regular Golf by a wide margin in North America. Self proclaimed car gurus can make fun all they want. Apparently they aren’t as mart as they think they are.