Nissan's Nismo performance sub brand will continue to grow, but it "must remain credible", according to Nissan's European sales and marketing chief Guillaume Cartier.
He said that more Nismo models were possible but their introduction must "make sense". Cartier said that a European Nismo variant of the Nissan Micra will not happen, despite the introduction of a Japanese market model earlier this year. A Nissan Qashqai Nismo has previously been rumoured.
He acknowledged that in order for Nismo to be established as a widely known performance brand, such as AMG or BMW's M division, it must create a more diverse portfolio, but credibility was vital. The brand's next model will be the Nissan GT-R Nismo.
"Nismo was built on a culture of enthusiast engineers doing crazy goings with cars. That is what it is known for in Japan. Nismo means different things to different markets", Cartier said. More than 80 per cent of the European market for performance variants of Nissan's core model range centres on the UK, German and Swiss markets.
Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn had previously said, “Whether it's a small car or a sports car, if it's wearing the Nismo badge it offers something special."
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Nismo cordial, dilute to taste.
Too late!
Didn't the credibility fly out the window long ago? Most recently with the Juke Nismo and the previously revealed Micra/March Nismo shown in June? Might as well go the whole hog and make a Nismo Primastar.