cars news 10: Nissan to Expand NISMO Brand, Promises More Vehicles

Nissan has announced that it will expand its NISMO division by adding new vehicles and expanding to new markets. This means more NISMO-badged road cars will appear in more vehicle segments, particularly in Japan, North America, the Middle East, and Europe. Named NISMO Cars Business Department, the newly formed unit will bring in talent from other Nissan Group divisions, including Autech and Nissan Motorsports International. Nissan also points out that the new arm will develop road-going NISMO vehicles in a shorter time frame.

With the addition of new NISMO vehicles, Nissan expects to increase sales of performance-oriented models, which currently stands at 15,000 units per year. Nissan originally launched its NISMO vehicle lineup for the 2013 model year with the arrival of the Juke NISMO, making it the first mainstream NISMO vehicle after the more expensive 370Z NISMO and GT-R NISMO sports cars. Recently, Nissan added the Sentra NISMO for the 2017 model year, the first NISMO-badged compact sedan. In other global markets, Nissan offers NISMO variants of the full-size Patrol SUV and the subcompact Note hatchback (Versa Note in North America).

In addition to developing new NISMO road cars, NISMO Cars Business Department will also work with Nissan Motorsports International to promote them. Nissan states that NISMO-badged vehicles will be shown at dealerships and it will use its new division to hold activities and events for owners of NISMO vehicles.

With Nissan expanding its NISMO division, is the automaker diluting the iconic name of its former motorsports arm? Tell us in the comments below.

Source: Nissan