Nissan announced on Friday that it has it managed to strike a deal with Mitsubishi, following the initial agreement signed in December last year, that will lead to the creation of a joint venture in charge with bringing a new minicar onto the local market.
The details about the soon-to-be product were not released neither by Nissan nor by Mitsubishi, but it's a well-known fact that venturing into this segment of the market has become a goal for Nissan in recent years.
“The establishment of the joint venture was part of an agreement signed in December 2010 to expand the scope of cooperation between the two companies. The two companies will strengthen their competitiveness in the minicar business through this joint venture,” Nissan said.
Building on the existing numbers, Nissan predicted a while ago that the minicar segment would account for half of the increased market share it expects to achieve in the near future, regardless of the size of that growth. In 2010, minicars sold in Japan by Nissan accounted for 20 percent of all the sales.
The new minicar will be produced with Mitsubishi starting 2013, with more models likely to follow should the first product prove to be a hit. More details on the first joint product are probably months away.
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