Nissan Sales Success Driven By British-Built Trio

MAPLE CROSS, UNITED KINGDOM – January 8, 2010: British built, British bought, British brilliance! On the day the official new car sales figures for 2009 are announced, Nissan is delighted to be celebrating tremendous success in the face of one of the toughest years ever faced by the motor industry.

Increased market share, an uplift in sales and significant leaps up the new car sales charts are testament to the quality of all new Nissans, but there are three specific models without which such achievements would have been impossible – and they are all built right here in the UK. The Micra, Note and Qashqai all exceeded expectations in 2009 to contribute to a Nissan new car sales total of 77,924 – a 17% increase on the 2008 figure.

This extraordinary increase was not reliant upon the Government’s Scrappage scheme which has resulted in a relatively small uplift in sales since its launch in May 2009. Nissan offered its own more enticing new car buying incentive by guaranteeing a £2,000 minimum trade-in price for cars aged 8-10 years old for anyone buying a British built Nissan. Leading finance packages, enhanced trim levels and high quality across the entire model range also all played their part in the 2009 sales achievements.

Choosing a Nissan is always good news for the British manufacturing industry, as the company built 338,150 vehicles at its Sunderland Plant last year. In the UK in 2009, 25,776 Qashqais were sold (up from 20,240 in 2008), a total of 19,173 Micras found new homes (up from 17,203 in 2008), while 18,176 Nissan customers opted for the versatile Note. Each and every one was built here in Britain.

The Qashqai has also capped a fine year with its third appearance in the monthly list of top ten best selling cars in the UK. A total of 2,759 Qashqai and Qashqai+2 models were sold in Britain in the last month of 2009, helping Nissan to be the number 1 best selling Japanese brand in December.

The 8th biggest selling brand in the overall 2009 UK new car sales charts, Nissan is now ahead of key competitors including Honda and Citroen. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that Nissan’s market share of 3.91% (up from 3.11% in 2008) is its highest since 2000.

Nissan’s UK MD, Paul Willcox comments: “We are delighted to end 2009 on such a high – and excited about what this means for 2010. Last year was unlike any other with the toughest economic conditions to face the motor industry in living memory, but we have still managed to increase our year on year sales. What’s more, with lots to look forward to in the coming 12 months we have every intention of continuing this success in 2010.”

The most exciting new arrival in wintery Nissan showrooms in January has to be the new Cube. On sale this month, the cult-car from Japan provides a trend-setting solution to urban transport for the design connoisseur – and is set to take the high street by storm.

The Cube will be followed in March by a revised version of the Qashqai, which will enhance the model’s sporty appeal with improvements inside, outside and under the skin. March will also see the arrival of Nissan’s hottest drop-top, the 370Z Roadster, just in time for the spring.

And as if that’s not enough, 2010 will also mark the arrival of the all-new Micra and Juke models (click here for details of the Juke) before the end of the year. Here’s to another exceptional Nissan year ahead!