Despite it being axed in the U.S. and replaced by the more conventional looking Kicks, the Nissan Juke continues to be a strong seller in Europe with the company’s plant in Sunderland, U.K., cranking out its millionth Juke in July. Nissan’s European arm is apparently looking forward to its next million Jukes when the second generation reportedly drops next year.
Autocar recently spoke to Nissan design boss Alfonso Albaisa who confirmed that the next-gen subcompact crossover would enter production in 2019 and be boldly styled, just like its predecessor. He says the new Juke won’t resemble the old one, the company’s IMx concept crossover, or the Leaf but be entirely its own thing.
“[The next Juke] doesn’t look too much like the last one,” Albaisa told Autocar. “It doesn’t look like IMx or new Leaf, either. It’s an urban meteor with a nasty attitude.” Urban meteor with a nasty attitude, eh? Sounds like it’ll be divisive and just what Juke fans are looking for in a car, that’s for sure.
“Our job was easier with the first one because there was nothing else like it,” Albaisa continued. “And that car’s success was so huge even given how polarizing it looked. The second one couldn’t be derivative or evolutionary and still be a Juke. We’d almost have to change its name to ‘Nancy’ otherwise.”
The Juke sequel will reportedly sit on an elongated platform borrowed from the Micra and Renault Clio subcompacts and be powered by a 1.2-liter turbo-four.