The company hasn't been in this segment in Europe since it dropped the aged Almera in 2006.
The car will likely be shown in concept form at Geneva, and the production version will not be called Almera.
The Barcelona plant, where the Pathfinder, Navara and NV200 van is built, is getting a €180m investment to produce the new car, aimed at the hotly contested segment where Ford's Focus and VW's Golf are leaders.
