The 2021 Nissan Kicks e-Power could've been the just the car to shake up Malaysia's B-segment small-SUV market but alas, it's arrival here has been delayed.

According to sources familiar with Nissan's product plans here, Edaran Tan Chong Malaysia (ETCM) will not launch anything else this year after the facelifted 2021 Nissan Navara that was introduced in April.

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How is the Kicks doing elsewhere?

Thailand is the only country outside of Japan to produce e-Power hybrid Nissan models, with the Kicks e-Power exported to Indonesia, Singapore, and even Japan.

As its name suggests, the e-Power differs from the normal Kicks sold in the United States, India, and China. The ones sold in South East Asia are full-hybrids, while those in other markets come with regular petrol engines.

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Despite a strong start, interest in the model in Thailand - its biggest market in this region - has been dwindling. Nearly a year after its launch there, only 1,505 cars have found new owners thus far.

According to our sister site AutoFun Thailand, there's a few reasons for its lack of success there. Glaringly, the lack of a regular engine is one, which goes hand-in-hand with it being rather expensive when compared against its competitors.

Even with prices encroaching into Toyota Corolla Cross and Mazda CX-30 territories (circa THB 1.1 million, ~RM 145k), the Kicks e-Power loses out on features like power-adjustable seats and even Android Auto, things both rivals come complete with.

For now, ETCM has their hands full with the brilliant Nissan Almera and updated Navara. Hopefully when the Kicks comes here, we get a properly good version that serves as a viable alternative to the usual crop we have right now.

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