Nissan recently launched their compact SUV Kicks in the Indian market, but the lack of an automatic option in the line-up was a sore spot for the maker. However, now there is good news as the Kicks compact SUV will soon get the option of a CVT automatic gearbox in its line-up. Apart from the Kicks, the two other cars to take the CVT route will be the Datsun Go and the Datsun Go Plus. To let you know, Datsun is a sub-brand of the Japanese maker Nissan and focuses more on the affordable car segment in several market.
The director of sales and commercial division at Nissan India, Hardeep Singh Brar had recently stated that the upcoming festive season of India will see the Nissan Kicks compact SUV, Datsun Go hatch, and the Datsun Go Plus compact MPV get the option of a CVT automatic gearbox. This move is in response to the market's growing shift toward automatic vehicles. Till now, none of these models offered the option of an automatic gearbox in the market.
Nissan offers automatic with its older Terrano SUV in the market, but the automatic unit on Terrano is just an AMT unit, whereas the upcoming automatic variant of Kicks will get the relatively more refined CVT unit. Renault Duster, a rival of Kicks and also a product of a partner company also happens to offer automatic gearbox option in the segment. Therefore, it was only imperative that sooner or later the Japanese company would bring out the automatic variant of Kicks to the market as well. However, now that the announcement has been made, one can only wonder why the company did not take the same step right at the time the Kicks was launched in the market. Nissan Kicks locks horns with Hyundai Creta and the Renault Duster in its segment. On the other hand, the introduction of an automatic option will also help the Datsun Go and Datsun Go+ rack up sales numbers in their segment.
Nissan also recently introduced a new variant of their Kicks diesel in the Indian market. The new variant by the company brings down the price of the SUV by a large margin without compromising a lot on the features. Although, the introduction of a CVT automatic gearbox and the onset of strict emission norms will see the price of the SUV rise by a large margin. The current entry level trim of the Kicks is a good option for people looking at an affordable compact SUV in the market.