The crossover was initially introduced as a concept car under the same name and was premiered at the 2014 São Paulo International Motor Show.

The first-generation Kicks was then gradually rolled out across Latin America, then it entered the United States and Canada in 2018 to replace the Juke as the subcompact crossover offering in both countries.

[8] The Kicks made the North American debut on 29 November 2017 at the Los Angeles Auto Show and was slated to be on sale in June 2018.

[13][14] Only produced in Thailand, the variant features an updated look with reworked front fascia and tail lights.

The Kicks e-Power combines a HR12DE 1.2-litre 3-cylinder petrol engine and an EM57 electric motor that drives the front wheels, making it a series hybrid vehicle with no plug-in capability.

[23] The front fascia was made identical to the Kicks e-Power that was launched earlier, with a larger grille and LED headlights.

Inside, the 2021 Kicks received upgrades including a centre armrest, larger touchscreen, and an electronic parking brake.

The suspension for the 2021 Kicks, which features an independent front strut with rear twin-tube shock absorbers, is also identical to the previous 2020 model.

[27] On 1 August 2018, Mexican automotive magazine Autología took a Fan Edition version of the Kicks on a moose test.

Due to a lack of an electronic stability program (ESP) in this particular trim, the Kicks nearly rolled over while performing the test at 65 km/h.

The Indian market Kicks shares platform and parts with Dacia Duster and the B0 platform-based Renault Captur to reduce costs, as both were manufactured in the same Renault-Nissan plant in Chennai.

In May 2020, Nissan removed the K9K diesel engine option due to the implementation of Bharat Stage 6 emission standards.

[38] In 2023, Nissan announced that the Kicks will be ending production in India and discontinued at the market due to poor sales, and the vehicle was not made compliant with Bharat Stage 6 Phase 2 emissions regulations.

[40] The interior features twin 7-inch screens that serve as the gauge cluster and infotainment system, which offers Bluetooth connectivity, an aux jack and a USB type-A port.

Nissan was forced to delay the start of production (SOP) date by an additional six months from the initially planned December 2023 to June 2024 due to several issues, such as failure to pass crash safety tests and tooling theft at a supplier factory in Mexico.