Future Concept: Nissan's Scion Strategy
Get 'em while they're young
By Editors of Motor Trend
Photography by The Manufacturer
There won't be a separate dealer channel for them, but Nissan is seriously pondering import of three sub-Sentra models for the U.S. market. They'd be production versions of the hatchback Sport Concept that just made its New York show debut, the Azeal coupe unveiled at Detroit, and the Actic small people-mover concept it showed at Detroit in 2004. All would be based on the Renault Megane platform and are intended to compete with the Scion xA, tC, and xB, respectively. The Sport Concept is described as "the latest in a series of dynamic performance/youth concept vehicles, following the Actic and Azeal concepts."
Would the Scion generation accept a Megane-based hatchback as a Sentra replacement? Design chief Shiro Nakamura thinks there's room for more hatchback models in the U.S. market. The Sport, Azeal, and Actic would start to roll out into dealers before Nissan releases a Sentra replacement, he says. Although Nakamura claims the Sport will be positioned below Sentra at 171 inches in overall length, it's closer to the VW Golf in size than the Mini Cooper. The Actic, meanwhile, is the next-generation Cube small minivan/xB-competitor to be made larger and with our market in mind.
From Nakamura's hints, it seems likely Nissan is designing a new Sentra to compete with the Jetta. Currently expected for the 2007 model year, the car already has been held back several times.