2012 Nissan Versa To Debut at 2011 New York Auto Show

Just the Facts:

• A successor to the Nissan Versa is expected to be introduced at the upcoming New York auto show.
• The 2012 Versa is based on the redesigned Nissan Sunny that was unveiled late last year at the Guangzhou auto show and went on sale earlier this year in China.
• The new compact sedan in the U.S. will shift to a newer, smaller platform and will continue to be slotted in size and price below the Nissan Sentra.

Nissan is planning to introduce a successor to the compact Versa sedan at the upcoming2011 New York Auto Show.

The Japanese automaker released a teaser sketch last October of the 2012 Versa, saying only that it would be "sold in the Americas."

Since then, the sketch has been posted to Nissan's consumer Web site, where it is described as the 2012 Nissan Versa and the "next-generation Versa." The Nissan Web site adds that the car will be "available soon."

More recently, the company said it plans to "unveil an all-new small car" at the New York show, but declined to divulge any further details.

The next Versa is expected to arrive at U.S. dealers later this year as a 2012 model. Like the current car, the new Versa will be assembled at Nissan's plant in Aguascalientes, Mexico.

But while the current Versa is a version of the home-market Nissan Tiida, built on Renault-Nissan's global B platform, the 2012 Versa is expected to shift to the newer, smaller V platform that underpins the recently redesigned Nissan March/Micra and the new Sunny.

The same global platform was to provide the base for the new Smart five-door hatchback that Nissan planned to build in Mexico for Daimler, beginning in late 2011, until that deal went south earlier this year.

In December, prior to the launch of the new Sunny in China, Nissan said the car eventually would be sold in 170 countries and confirmed a version of the car would come to the U.S. as a successor to the current Versa.-insideline.com