Tiida needs more substance: Nakamura

Even though worldwide sales are now closer to the mark, Nissan's chief of design, Shiro Nakamura, admits the company needs to re-assess its Tiida small car.

"The next Tiida will be more attractive," Nakamura told journalists at last week's Tokyo motor show.

"Tiida is not really fitted to the segment. Its positioning [in Australia] was wrong. If we look at our vehicles in places like China, for example Sylphy, we positioned it slightly higher and it didn't work very well.

The Nissan Sylphy is the Pulsar replacement in markets including Singapore, using the Nissan-Renault B segment platform.

"Like Sylphy, the Tiida had no history in its market. Every time we bring a new model we have to adjust," he says. "The Tiida needs to be more substantial; have more presence."

Nissan needs to add more emotion into some of its products, rather than producing merely transport, Nakamura says.

Nakamura believes the Qashqai/Dualis crossover due for launch Down Under early next year will do a much better job in its segment. He claims it has the goods to take on the likes of VW Golf as it has more emotional appeal -- rather than being "simply a practical hatchback."

Nakamura's boss, Nissan-Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn believes the Qashqai/Dualis (more here) is an example where Nissan's failures have brought successes elsewhere. The Primera, sold in Europe, was not renewed because every project applied to develop it turned up few possibilities, he says. The Qashqai had to provide Nissan with many options, he says.

"Innovation is developed after you look at a product, and if you can't imagine its development or the chance to make a return, you must change the concept or make it adapt," Ghosn told the media at Tokyo.

"The Qashqai [Dualis] has more substance than many others in its segment and it's [already] very popular in Europe. We need to do the same for Tiida," says Nakamura.

"The Nissan brand wants to be very active and promote a passion for driving all our cars."

According to Nakamura a new Tiida is already in planning stages and the company has started a "primary phase" of design. This is customary at Nissan where planning begins approximately three years before start of production.

Tiida's sales in Australia amount to 10,489 units, for the year to date as at September. That figure places the Tiida well below other small car entries in the segment, including the more expensive Holden Astra (14,231 units) and Ford Focus (13,530 units). By way of comparison, Toyota's segment-leading Corolla has already topped 35,449 units sold for the year so far.

The Tiida is sandwiched between the Mitsubishi Lancer -- just given a shot in the arm with an entirely new model -- and the Volkswagen Golf, doing good business thanks to diesel engine offerings and strong specification levels.

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