While all eyes will be on the 2010 Detroit Auto Show starting Monday, Nissan is reminding us today that the next major show will be held in Geneva in March. The Japanese automaker announced today that it will debut the new Nissan Juke at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show with sales to begin shortly after.

Inspired by the Qazana concept, the Nissan Juke extends the crossover philosophy to the compact car segment. Nissan says that the Juke will fit into the Nissan range between the Note compact family car and the Qashqai crossover.

The Nissan Juke will be produced alongside the Qashqai, Qashqai+2 and Note at Nissan”s facility in Sunderland, Great Britain.

Powertrain and availability details will be announced next month.

Make the jump for the press release.

2011 Nissan Juke Teaser:

Press Release:

JUKE: NISSAN”S NEW SMALL CROSSOVER

* Sales to begin in Autumn for Europe
* Extending the Crossover philosophy to the small car segment
* Nissan”s fourth Crossover in Europe ““ reinforcing Crossover leadership
* Manufactured in UK

One month before its global media unveil on February 10th, Nissan today confirms the name of its forthcoming small Crossover. The Nissan Juke will go on sale from October, following its global public premiere at Geneva Motor Show in March.

The Nissan Juke will inject some much-needed dynamism into the small car segment, offering European car-buyers an alternative to the traditional, uninspiring small hatchback. As the fourth Crossover in Nissan”s European range, “Juke” reinforces the brand”s pioneering Crossover leadership in Europe.

The car was inspired by the Qazana concept car that received such a warm reception at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, and will fit into the Nissan range between the Note compact family car and the Qashqai crossover.

Nissan”s customer research identified a large proportion of European small and compact car buyers whose needs are not met by what they perceive to be uninspiring and unoriginal options available to them where copycat hatchbacks dominate.

The Nissan Juke has been designed and developed to give customers an alternative to the traditional small hatchback in Europe. We know that there are a lot of customers that are looking for a car which combines striking design, agile handling and driving pleasure, user friendly technology but not at the expense of practicality and convenience. These unique attributes will allow Juke to occupy a unique corner of the European market,” said Simon Thomas, Nissan”s European Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing.

“Nissan caught the mood of the European car-buying public with Qashqai crossover and we”ve worked hard to study the market in the same way for Juke to be sure we meet the needs of European customers. We”re confident that Juke will bring a new generation of customers to Nissan, in the same way that Qashqai did. Our philosophy of challenging conventions with Qashqai has been a huge success. We”ve just reached the 500,000 landmark and we”re applying many of the lessons learned from Qashqai to Juke. We”re confident we”ll have another success on our hands,” added Simon Thomas.

Juke will be manufactured alongside the Qashqai, Qashqai+2 and Note at Nissan”s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Sunderland, Great Britain.

With the introduction of Murano in the US in 2003, the Crossover concept was introduced to consumers who were looking for a vehicle that combined the dynamic design and handling characteristics of a passenger car, but with the added benefit of all-wheel drive traction and the improved visibility of a raised seating position, but without the boxy shape of an SUV.

In Europe, the introduction in 2007 of Nissan”s Qashqai heralded the mainstream introduction of the Crossover concept for the first time, providing an alternative to the traditional C-Segment offering. In just over two-and-a-half years, and with a half-a-million buyers in Europe, customer feedback shows they love its combination of understated, but sophisticated design which combines the lower body robustness of an SUV, but the upper body profile of a passenger car. Such has been demand for Qashqai that production was increased at the plant in Sunderland, UK, to meet supply. The Qashqai concept was followed by the introduction of the stretched wheelbase version, the Qashqai+2, offering extra interior space allowing the inclusion of a third row of folding seats to meet the needs of larger active families who need extra space or accommodation.

Details of forthcoming refreshments to the Qashqai were released earlier in December.

Full details of Juke will be released on 10th February 2010.

- By: Kap Shah

Over the weekend, we saw Nissan unveil its first mass-production electric-vehicle due out in the U.S. as early as next year. Nissan, which has been very vocal about its electric-future recently, said yesterday that it wants to mass market its electric vehicles globally by 2012.

According to report by AutoCar, an all-electric version of the upcoming Qazana crossover and a production version of the mini Nuvu electric-concept is a possibility for 2013.

The Qazana, which was unveiled at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show earlier this year, will be produced at Nissan’s Sunderland factory in the UK.

A source said that Nissan has plans of building seven lithium-ion battery production lines around the world, each with a capacity to produce 50,000 lithium-ion batteries annually.

The production version of the Nissan Qazana will debut at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show.

Nissan Qazana Crossover Concept:

- By: Kap Shah

Source: AutoCar

Usually, most production cars never end up looking like what they did in their concept form. But when it comes to the Qazana crossover concept seen in Geneva this month, Nissan insider say that people will be ‘shocked’ by how similar the production car will be to the concept.

While it may seem a bit out-there, Nissan Design Europe’s vice president, Alfonso Albaisa, tells CAR Online that the production car will keep many off the Qazana’s cues when it enters production in the summer of 2010.

Albaisa says that people can expect to see those daytime running headlamps that seem to be on the bonnet of the Qazana along with the boomerang rear taillights. Also, the inside of the production model will keep its dashboard architecture seen in the concept.

Nonetheless, the boot hatch and the suicide rear-doors will be replaced with rear-hinged doors.

Nissan Qazana Concept:

- By: The Daily Auto Editor

Source: CAR

Nissan has unveiled the new Qazana crossover concept at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show today. Nissan says that the significance of the Qazana concept should not be “underestimated.” While it may look to radical for a production vehicle Nissan says that a small crossover is on the way and the Qazana points to that very future Nissan production vehicle.

The production version of the Nissan Qazana will be smaller than the current Qashqai crossover sold in Europe. It will be built at the company’s Sunderland factory in the UK.

Oh and it’s supposedly inspired by motorbikes and beach buggies.

Make the jump for the press release and the high-res image gallery.

Nissan Qazana Crossover Concept:

NISSAN CROSSOVER DESIGN CONCEPT DEBUTS AT GENEVA MOTOR SHOW

At a glance

- Crossover concept reinvents small five-door
- Inspired by motorbikes and beach buggies
- Compact design ““ sporty, yet rugged
- Designed in Europe

The Nissan Qazana makes its first ever appearance at the Geneva Motor Show today. Inspired by a simple desire to have fun behind the wheel, Qazana shows that mind-numbing motoring could be a thing of the past.

Officially it’s a showcar, a study into how a small car of the future could look. But with the announcement that a small crossover ““ a baby brother to Qashqai ““ will be built at the company’s Sunderland factory in the UK, Qazana’s significance should not be underestimated.

“The Qazana concept is an intelligent, all-wheel drive crossover which is masculine, agile, lean, and designed for the tough city streets. Our team at Nissan Design Europe in London realised this image with the motif of a modern day beach buggy and four-seat motor-bike,” explains Atsushi Maeda, Studio Chief Designer, Nissan Design Europe.

According to Matt Weaver, project lead designer at NDE, Qazana was designed to be sophisticated but fun. “It’s a hugely optimistic car, which is no bad thing in these difficult times. Had it been created in the 1960s, it would have counted camper vans, bikes and buggies as its rivals. Infused with that same spirit, there’s nothing quite like it available today.”

Challenges tradition

In the same way that Nissan re-wrote the rule-book when it introduced Qashqai two years ago, so Qazana is ready to do it again. By approaching the small car market from a totally different direction, Qazana invigorates, stimulates and rejuvenates the traditional town runabout.

Compact dimensions

Compact overall dimensions (4060mm in length, 1570mm tall, 1780 wide and a wheelbase of 2530mm) mean Qazana would be ideally suited to the urban environment. Yet its advanced specification and energetic styling suggest an ability that goes far beyond the city walls.

By mixing SUV and sports car styling cues, NDE’s design team has created a highly individual Crossover quite unlike anything else on the road. The tall stance, truncated rear styling and short front and rear overhangs underscore its feeling of robustness and strength, but the low roof line, assertive side window graphic and broad shoulders hint at a sporting ability absent in traditional all-wheel drives.

At the same time, rounded elements ““ notably the wheel arches and bonnet ““ evoke a friendly ambiance and provide a link with existing Nissan Crossovers. Indeed, Qazana has the signature Crossover design detail in the rising window line at the rear, also found on Murano and Qashqai.

Says Weaver: “Qazana follows in Qashqai’s wheel tracks by challenging convention. Externally Qazana adds a number of existing Nissan design cues ““ including a variation on the ‘boomerang’ rear light theme from 370Z ““ to a highly distinctive shape that’s unlike anything else in the company’s current design portfolio.”

Crossover styling

The profile is dominated by the prominent wheel arches and by the body’s high waistline, which combine to give an impression of strength and which contrast vividly with the slim side windows. Echoing a style first seen on Mixim, Nissan’s high performance electric coupé concept shown at the 2007 Frankfurt Show, the glasshouse resembles a crash helmet visor.

Although it appears at first glance to be a two-door coupé, Qazana has a further pair of rear-hinged half doors to ease access to the rear compartment. All the doors are electrically operated and for safety reasons the rear pair can only be activated once the fronts have been opened. With no conventional B-pillar, access to the interior couldn’t be easier.

One notable feature of the roof-line is the virtually straight cant rail above the doors which adds further to the strength of the profile. The roof itself has a pair of thin glass inserts running the full length of the roof which allow slithers of natural light into the cabin.

This contrast between sporty performance and all-terrain potential is underlined by the venturi-style skid plate at the rear of the vehicle, Qazana’s extended ground clearance and the soft rubber spats which edge the wheel arches and help to disguise the vehicle’s long suspension travel. The graphite coloured spats contrast vividly with the bold exterior colour, a unique shade called White Titanium, and the strikingly styled
20 inch black chrome alloy wheels.

Distinctive frontal aspect

The car’s face is dominated by four headlamps. Two lower circular lamps set within the bumper contrast with a pair of daylight running strips mounted high on the wings on either side of the bonnet: the look is of a rally car preparing for a night stage.

While the full width grille, dominated by Nissan’s centrally mounted badge, is an interpretation of current Nissan styling, its construction is not. A one-piece acrylic moulding, no cooling air can pass through the grille. Instead, the lower portion of the bumper, finished in a contrasting graphite colour, is dominated by a number of large holes for air to reach the radiator. See-through acrylic mouldings are also used for the door mirrors.

The interior has been designed as an extension of the exterior thanks to a clever interplay between hard and soft materials. Rather than being completely enveloped in leather for example, elements of the lightweight carbon fibre seat structure are on permanent view, appearing to have ‘broken through’ the covering. The centre portion of the backrests features a mesh material, allowing fresh air to circulate around the occupants.

Like the seats, the metal sections of the centre console seem to have forced their way through the leather covering while the internal door-frame is part exposed so that the door pull appears to be hewn from solid metal.

Motorcycle inspired interior

Adding further to the mechanical feel of the interior, the shape of the centre console and armrest has been inspired by the fuel tank and seat of a sports motocycle. Paul Ray, senior interior designer at NDE, is a keen rider. “I enjoy the sensation of being at one with my bike and wanted to capture that feeling in Qazana,” he says.

“The way the structure appears through the fabric of the interior also reflects motorcycle design and construction.”

Accentuating the practical side of the car, Qazana has ‘floating’ seats centrally mounted over a one-piece rubberised floor covering, creating an openness in the cockpit. Grooves cut in the flooring are replicated on the seats themselves.

The dashboard is dominated by a centrally mounted screen. As well as doubling as a navigation display, it will deliver vital information relating to Nissan’s next generation fully electronic ALL MODE four-wheel drive with torque vectoring system and other advanced technical processes found on board, including integrated communications systems. Using an intuitive touch-screen interface, the driver will be able to adjust the air-conditioning and other key vehicle settings.

Alfonso Albaisa, Vice President, Nissan Design Europe, says: “When it comes to design, Nissan has developed a reputation for constantly delivering something different. The global success of Qashqai has proven that the car buying public is fed up with the conventional… but we are not prepared to sit on our laurels. Qazana might seem a radical solution but important elements of the concept do point to a future Nissan production vehicle.

As reported earlier this month, Nissan will unveil its new Qazana Concept at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. The car hints at an upcoming production small crossover for 2010 which will be built at the company’s Sunderland UK factory.

We now have the first teaser image of the Qazana which will reportedly have 5-doors, with the rear doors opening forward in the style of “suicide doors”.

When the Qazana enters production it will replace the Micra which will no longer be built at Sunderland starting 2010.

Nissan Qazana Concept:

Source: CAR