Nissan's fifth-generation Micra subcompact will not be sold in the U.S., but it signals what could be in store for one of the brand's key U.S. models, the Versa Note hatchback.
Nissan has evolved the Micra's global V platform into an entry-level technology horse, with safety technology that will support a move to autonomous drive.
The redesign signals where the next-generation Versa Note will go with technology, since it is built for the U.S. on the same V platform.
Unveiled last week at the Paris auto show, the entry-level, Europe-oriented Micra has received such advanced safety features as lane departure prevention, intelligent emergency braking with pedestrian recognition, traffic sign recognition and 360-degree around-view monitor.
Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn called the features building blocks for autonomous- drive technology.
Ghosn's Renault-Nissan Alliance plans to introduce more than 10 autonomous-drive models by 2020. Its first Level 1 autonomous model, in which one or more functions of driving can be done automatically by the vehicle, was just launched in Japan as the Serena van. Ghosn said the second will come next year as a European-market Qashqai.
Ghosn said the Micra will launch in six months, built for the first time at a Renault factory in France. Although previous generations of the car were produced by Nissan in the U.K., the Micra has been sourced from India since 2009.
