Nissan Achieves Highest Ever February Market Share in Europe

Following a record-breaking 2011, Nissan has made an even stronger start to 2012 and today announced its highest ever February market share in Europe.

In a market that was down around 4%, Nissan increased sales by 5.5% to 56,733 units resulting in a 4.1% share of the overall European market.

This strong performance was supported by Nissan's ongoing dominance of the popular crossover segment with sales of the UK-built Qashqai and Juke, together with Murano, accounting for 55% of the monthly total.

During the Geneva Motor Show, Nissan revealed its vision for a next generation vehicle that could further expand its crossover range in the form of the innovative and eye-catching Hi-Cross HEV concept.

Top-performing markets in February included Russia where sales increased 37% to more than 15,000 units resulting in a 7.5% share of the market - rising to nearly 9% amongst foreign manufacturers.

Nissan recently announced the all-new Almera sedan - developed exclusively for the Russian market - will go into production in Togliatti from November this year.

The UK also saw a significant 72% increase in year-on-year sales for February with France up 11%.

Nissan Vice President for Sales Operations in Europe, Guillaume Cartier, said:

"Nissan has made an emphatic start to 2012 and has achieved a ‘plus 4%' market share in the last three consecutive months, as well as in September last year.

"At Geneva we revealed just some of the models that are going to maintain and even accelerate this momentum.

"We confirmed that a car based on the INVITATION concept will go into production at our Sunderland Plant in the UK from mid-2013. As well as creating 2,000 new jobs, this model will be one of the most technologically-advanced and stylish cars to compete in the mainstream B-segment and add to the significant number of vehicles we already build in Europe.

"Excitingly, we also confirmed that Juke NISMO will go on sale before the end of the year and become the first model to bring our legendary sports arm into our mainstream product range.

"And we also announced that the eNV200 concept will be launched in both passenger and LCV versions before 2014, further cementing our company's leadership within the EV segment."

About Nissan in Europe
Nissan has one of the most comprehensive European presences of any overseas manufacturer, employing more than 14,500 staff across locally-based design, research & development, manufacturing, logistics and sales & marketing operations. Last year Nissan plants in the UK, Spain and Russia produced more than 677,000 vehicles including mini-MPVs, award-winning crossovers, SUVs and commercial vehicles. Nissan now offers 24 diverse and innovative products for sale in Europe today, and is positioned to become the number one Asian brand in Europe.

Contacts:

Fernando Menezes
Nissan Corporate and Brand Communications
Phone: +41 21 822 57 64
fmenezes@nissan-europe.com