Proton is eyeing up Nissan’s new Micra platform as a way to enter the cut-throat Indian small-car market.
Autocar India has learned that Nissan is considering licensing its V platform to Proton, which wants a credible small car to gain a foothold in key regions such as India.
Read Autocar's first drive of the new Nissan Micra
Built for emerging markets, the V platform can reduce the weight of the car and cut the number of parts needed by an estimated 18 per cent. It can also be adapted to different markets and regulations, the head of Nissan’s V platform, Vincent Cobee, has said.
The new vehicle is likely to draw heavily on the Emas concept shown at this year’s Geneva show. Its target markets offer excise duty concessions to cars under 4.0m in length, so expect a reworking of the 3550mm-long Emas’s rear packaging.
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Re: Micra may spawn small Proton
So, that'll be a new Smart ForFour and now a new Proton based on the Micra. Do you get the impression that Nissan may just be spreading themselves rather thinly?
What with that and the Suzuki Alto becoming the Nissan Pixo and the basis for new VW and Skoda models, you'll be hard pressed to work out which car is which. I presume the reason is that, since small cars are not particularly profitable, you need as many variations on a platform as possible.
Proton cars have always been treated with derision, it seems, but the factory which produces the Savvy was featured on TV and seemed very high-tech, so a decent model might just add a bit of class to their range.
Unfortunately, in the UK, you're hardly likely to see one since their dealer network is, to say the least, sparse, and despite owning Lotus, they haven't exactly made much of an impression.
Re: Micra may spawn small Proton
And would this be the basis for the Lotus City car ?
The answer to the Aston Martin IQ?
Funny how it all comes together............
Re: Micra may spawn small Proton
Spawn of the devil!!!