IT’S official – 2012 was a record year for Nissan, with 105,834 cars sold, giving Nissan a market share of 5.2 per cent.
Total car sales were up 9.9 per cent from 2011’s performance of 96,269 units. Including LCVs, Nissan sold 115,970 vehicles in the UK, up 8.3 percent from 107,123 in 2011.
And that best-ever volume came from the continued popularity of sector-defining models like the Qashqai and Juke which drove the majority of that success.
The Qashqai has increased sales every year since its launch in 2007 and 2012 was a vintage year with the family crossover selling 45,675 units, up from 39,406. That boosted sales by 15.9 per cent and cemented the Qashqai’s position as the UK’s sixth most popular car.
It was joined by the supermini crossover Juke, which had a phenomenal 2012, with 28,862 models sold, up from 21,900; a staggering 31.7 percent improvement. The Juke is only two years old as a brand in its own right and is now the sixth best-selling car in the B-segment. The all-electric LEAF also had a bumper year with sales up 10 percent.
And all this success was set against the backdrop of a record year at Nissan’s Sunderland manufacturing facility, which broke the 500,000 unit production barrier for the first time, building an incredible 510,572 vehicles, up 6.3 percent from last year’s performance of 480,485.
Nissan LCVs were also on a roll in 2012, with 10,136 light commercial vehicles sold. The NV200 was the biggest seller, with 3,435 units sold in 2012, up 35.8 percent from 2,529 in 2011.
Incredibly proud
With the Qashqai 360 edition and Juke Nismo going on sale this month, a revised LEAF (produced at Sunderland) arriving in the spring and a replacement for the Note joining in September – as well as many more product launches besides – the outlook for 2013 looks even more positive.
Jim Wright, Managing Director at Nissan GB said: ‘Despite an increasingly competitive market, 2012 was a record year for Nissan – and that’s something to be incredibly proud of.
‘The Qashqai continues to be a runaway success and the Juke is more than following in its footsteps, showing that we building exactly the right cars for our customers; cars that are innovative, exciting and for everyone.
‘Our manufacturing story is just as remarkable, with Nissan’s Sunderland production facility surging through the 500,000 unit barrier in 2012.
‘We look forward to building on this success in 2013 with many more new models, including the replacement for the Note. We intend to keep breaking records and over the next few years I anticipate many more will fall.’