The all-new 2020 Nissan Kicks e-Power has just made its global debut in Thailand. It is here to challenge the likes of Honda HR-V, Mazda CX-3, and Proton X50.

This is the first time the Thai market received the Kicks crossover and is the first country outside of Japan to offer the e-Power hybrid electric drive powertrain. The Kicks e-Power will be produced locally in Thailand and will be exported to other countries.

Nissan Thailand offers four variants of the Kicks e-Power with prices ranging from THB 889,000 to 1,049,000 (RM 121k to 142k). This makes it up to THB 70,000 (RM 9.5k) cheaper to buy than the HR-V.

Powering the Kicks is Nissan’s e-Power hybrid electric drivetrain which uses a 1.2-litre 3-cylinder petrol engine solely as a generator to charge the lithium-ion battery pack. This, in turn, juices the electric motor giving the Kicks e-Power 129 PS and 260 Nm of instant torque to drive the front wheels.

Nissan Thailand offers a 3-Years/100,000 km warranty for the Kicks e-Power while the lithium-ion is covered up to 10-Years and the electric system for up to 5-Years.

The Kicks e-Power also comes with the One-Pedal feature as seen on the all-new Nissan Leaf. This allows the drivers to accelerate and brake with just the accelerator pedal for a more relaxed driving experience in stop-go city traffic.

In Thailand, the Kicks e-Power is available with the full suite of Advanced Driving Assistance System (ADAS) – Autonomous Emergency Braking, Forward Collision Warning, Adaptive Cruise Control, Around View Monitor, Blind Spot Monitoring and Rear Cross Traffic Alert.

Key safety features such as ABS, Electronic Stability Control, Brake Assist and 6 airbags are standard across the range.

As for other interior features you’ll find in the Kicks e-Power include multifunctional steering wheel, half digital-half analogue combination instrument cluster, 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, electric parking brake and leather seats.

Depending on the grade selected, buyers can have the cabin finished in either dual-tone leather interior, black leather interior or black fabric interior. Boot space is rated at 432 litres.

On the outside, the Kicks e-Power gets full LED headlamps and taillamps, black V-motion front grille and 17-inch alloys. There is a total of 10 exterior colour options – 4 of them comes with a dual-tone black roof.

Closer to home, Edaran Tan Chong Motors (ETCM) is looking to introduce the Nissan Kicks e-Power to the Malaysian market. It is very likely that it will be fully imported as Nissan has appointed Thailand as a global production and export hub for the Kicks e-Power.

Customer deliveries in Thailand will commence in June 2020 but with the soft outlook for the automotive industry in Malaysia, we may see ETCM delaying the introduction of the Kicks e-Power to 2021. Besides, they have the all-new Nissan Almera to keep them busy.