Mini Nissans Have a Bright Future

There's no surprise to see carmakers focus on small and mini cars after the recession dramatically reduced the number of SUVs and large vehicles on the market and forecasts are predicting even greater times for small models. Nissan for example expects mini cars to play a key role in the company's efforts to increase its share in the domestic markets and says that it will attempt to minimize the strong yen effect by selling more in Japan.

"We think that half (of the increased market share) will come from sales of mini vehicles," Senior Vice President Takao Katagiri was quoted as saying by MarketWatch.

According to data provided by the aforementioned source, mini vehicles totaled 20 percent of Nissan's domestic sales in 2010, with figures likely to grow bigger this year. Furthermore, Nissan wants to consolidate its position in the country through a deal with Mitsubishi Motors with the help of which it intends to build new mini cars by March 2013.

Nissan has recently launched the new-generation Moco in Japan, a model that will be offered with two new engine versions and priced from $12,955.

Feature highlights include bright piano-black finisher flavor, with several other gadgets improving the comfort of the passengers and the driver: Fine Vision Meter, AM/FM radio/CD player with a 4.3-inch color display and touch panel and RearView Monitor.