Volkswagen Lupo 073

Filed under: Budget, Hatchback, Nissan, Suzuki, Volkswagen Nissan got turned out of the Chrysler house after Fiat bought the Pentastar, which ended Nissan's hopes for a jointly developed replacement for the Nissan Titan. while it's busy doing the O Solo Mio routine on the coming 2014 Titan, another potential blow to the Japanese brand is coming at the other end of the market: superminis. Suzuki provides its Indian-market Alto for Nissan to sell in Europe as the Pixo. But with Volkwsagen recently taking a majority stake in Suzuki, many are wondering if the Pixo spigot will be turned off. The Pixo competes with Volkswagen Lupo, seemingly giving the German firm a bit of motivation to end the deal, but nevertheless, no one at Suzuki or VW has spoken on the matter. Nissan knows it can't give up the shallow end of the market, especially with the supermini segment getting more crowded and more popular with buyers. However, Nissan already receives fewer Altos than it wants, and with VW already considering 35 joint projects with Suzuki - and Nissan certain to benefit from none of them - now could be a good day to start looking for a new small car partner regardless of the Pixo decision. [Source: BusinessWeek]Nissan small car program left out in the cold after VW-Suzuki deal? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments