Nissan Kicks: This hybrid SUV, with 1.8 million units sold, is finally arriving in Europe

The Nissan Kicks, already available in many countries, will be offered in Europe for the first time. This compact SUV will be produced in the United Kingdom and equipped with the latest generation of the manufacturer’s e-Power hybrid technology.

A new hybrid SUV manufactured in Sunderland

The Nissan Kicks is far from being an unknown name on a global scale. This compact crossover has already sold over 1.8 million units in more than 70 countries, but it had never been part of the European lineup until now. Nissan has just confirmed its arrival on the Old Continent. The European version will be assembled at Nissan’s plant in Sunderland, in northeastern England. The manufacturer plans to invest 170 million pounds (approximately 195 million euros) to prepare the facility for production.

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It will join the Qashqai, Juke, and Leaf in the lineup. Sunderland remains a central hub in Nissan’s European manufacturing network. The plant employs 6,000 people directly and has now produced over 12 million vehicles since its opening in 1986. The Kicks thus becomes the tenth model manufactured at this British site. However, we still lack information regarding its launch date, pricing, and specific specifications for the European market.

An electric powertrain… powered by gasoline

The SUV will feature the third generation of the e-Power system, introduced in 2025. Its operation differs from that of a conventional hybrid since the gasoline engine never drives the wheels directly. It serves only as a generator to produce electricity for the battery and electric motor that propel the vehicle.

This approach allows drivers to experience some of the characteristics of an electric car, such as immediate response to acceleration, without needing to plug in the vehicle. Nissan already has extensive experience with this technology in Europe thanks to the Qashqai e-Power, of which over 200,000 units have been produced in the UK.

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Nissan is also developing two smaller electric vehicles

This arrival comes as Nissan updates its European lineup. The brand is set to unveil a small electric vehicle in the A segment named PIXO starting next week. More importantly, Sunderland will produce the third generation of the Juke beginning in 2027. And the change will be significant: unlike the Kicks, this future model will completely abandon internal combustion engines to become 100% electric.