Sayonara $9988 Micra! MSRP now starts at $10,488. Spark is cheaper.

[MetroMPG]

A brief history of the Micra's "under $10k" pricing...

-- When the Micra came out in 2014 as a 2015 model, Nissan shocked the Canadian entry level market with a base MSRP of $9998. It was a brilliant move -- it probably generated millions of dollars worth of free press.

-- A few years later, Chevrolet undercut the Micra's price by $3, starting the redesigned Spark at $9995. (Thread: 2016 Chevrolet Spark is now Canada’s cheapest new car)

-- Nissan retaliated almost immediately to defend its "cheapest car in Canada" crown, beating the Spark by $7, down to $9988.

The Micra held on to that price until mid-2018, when new rules requiring back-up cameras came into effect (Back-up cameras mandatory on all new cars for 2018, says Transport Canada )

After adding the backup camera and fancy entertainment system (although with only 2 speakers on the S), Nissan decided a base Micra is now $10,488.



As of today, the Spark is still listed starting at $9995.The Mirage starts at $10,998 (though it almost always has a $1000 factory cash discount, making it effectively $9998).

This may explain why the Spark has overtaken the Micra in sales in each of the last 4 months for which we have numbers (GM is only releasing quarterly sales stats now).