Nissan is bringing the Kicks compact crossover to Europe and will invest £170 million ($230 million) to build the new electrified model at its Sunderland manufacturing plant in the UK.
The announcement comes as Nissan Sunderland celebrates its 40th anniversary, adding another electrified vehicle to a production line that already builds the Qashqai, Juke and LEAF.
The European-market Nissan Kicks will feature the company’s e-POWER hybrid technology, which uses an electric motor to drive the wheels while a gasoline engine generates electricity for the battery.
Nissan says production in Sunderland will supply customers in the UK, Europe and Turkey.
The second-generation Nissan Kicks is already produced in Japan, Mexico and Brazil and has surpassed 1.8 million sales across more than 70 countries.
Its arrival in Europe expands Nissan’s electrified lineup with a powertrain positioned between conventional gasoline vehicles and fully electric cars.
Unlike a traditional hybrid, Nissan’s e-POWER system does not use the gasoline engine to mechanically drive the wheels. Instead, the electric motor is solely responsible for driving the vehicle, while the gasoline engine acts as a generator to produce electricity and recharge the battery.
The result is designed to deliver an EV-like driving experience, including instant electric-motor response and smooth acceleration, while retaining the convenience of a gasoline fuel stop.
The Kicks will use Nissan’s third-generation e-POWER system, introduced in 2025. The latest system was extensively redesigned to improve fuel efficiency, reduce emissions and provide a quieter and more refined driving experience.
Nissan has sold more than 1.9 million e-POWER vehicles globally since the technology debuted in 2016. More than 200,000 Qashqai e-POWER models have already been built at the Sunderland plant.
The Kicks announcement is the second major European product update from Nissan this month.
The company has also announced a new A-segment electric car called PIXO, which is scheduled to be unveiled next week. Together, the two models highlight Nissan’s strategy of offering customers different electrified powertrains rather than relying exclusively on battery-electric vehicles.
The Kicks will become the 10th Nissan model produced at Sunderland since manufacturing began at the facility in 1986.
Previous models built at the plant include the Bluebird, Primera, Micra, Almera, Note, Infiniti Q30, Juke, Qashqai and LEAF.
Nissan says Sunderland has produced 12 million vehicles since the first Bluebird left the production line. The plant has now reached an average production rate equivalent to one vehicle every 1 minute and 45 seconds.
