Nissan GB is celebrating the sale of its one millionth crossover vehicle to UK customers, the first car brand to achieve the major milestone.
The combined sales of both generations of Qashqai (2007-2014 & 2014-2020), Juke (2010-2019 & 2019-) and the current generation X-Trail (2014-), collectively reached and have since passed the one million total.
Nissan marked the occasion by wrapping the five models that contributed to the sales milestone in platinum.
A platinum record is traditionally awarded to music artists who achieve one million sales of their album or single.
Since the Nissan Qashqai invented the crossover segment in 2007, and the Juke created the compact crossover segment in 2010, Nissan has been the market leader for UK crossover sales.
The Qashqai is a main fixture in the UK’s top 10 selling cars, with the Nissan Juke regularly among the top 15 best-selling models.
Andrew Humberstone, Managing Director, Nissan Motor (GB) Ltd., commented: “We are thrilled to have reached this unprecedented sales milestone and wish to express sincere gratitude to our customers for putting their trust and loyalty in the quality of Nissan’s vehicles.
“Quite simply, if you are thinking of buying a crossover you will not find another brand that has even close to the number of happy customers as Nissan. We’re the market leaders in this segment because we put our customers first – in the design and engineering of our vehicles, but also in the purchasing and ownership experience.”
A significant focus
Of the one million Nissan crossovers sold in the UK, 93 per cent were made at the company’s Sunderland plant in North East England.
Sunderland has produced crossovers for Nissan since December 2006 when the first-generation Qashqai rolled off the line. Juke production began in 2010, with the second generations of Qashqai in 2014 and Juke in 2019. The current generation X-Trail has been produced at Nissan’s Kyushu plant in Japan since 2014 and accounted for seven per cent of the one million UK sales.
Both generations of Qashqai and Juke were designed, engineered and produced in the UK.
The Qashqai is the UK’s largest volume manufactured car with more than three million manufactured in Sunderland.
Nissan’s Sunderland plant is also the largest automotive factory in UK history, with one in three British-made cars coming off its production lines, making Nissan the UK’s biggest car manufacturer.
Crossovers are a significant focus for Nissan and will continue to play an important role in the brand’s product line-up as part of its Nissan NEXT business transformation plan.
The third-generation Nissan Qashqai, which will also be made in Sunderland, will go on sale later in 2021.
Humberstone concluded: “As a brand, Nissan is always looking to our future and ensuring we exceed both the demands and desires of our customers. We launched the next-generation Nissan Juke at the end of 2019 and in July 2020 we unveiled Ariya, our first all-electric crossover.
“The next generation of Qashqai will also be with us very soon featuring two electrified powertrains that will reinforce its benchmark position in the segment. We have the best for our customers today, but we will also have the best for them tomorrow.”
Whilst Nissan has had to close showroom doors during the national lockdown, the brand’s Shop@Home service is supporting customers with their next purchase from the comfort of their homes.
Customers can browse and configure models, explore finance options, and even click-and-collect from their nearest COVID-secure Nissan showroom.
Handling refinement
Crossovers combine the raised seating position, ground clearance and capable styling of SUVs, with the compact external dimensions, efficient performance and handling refinement of hatchbacks.
A hugely popular segment of vehicle, crossover sales have continued to outperform the overall UK car market over the past few years.
In 2019, the B-SUV (Juke) and C-SUV (Qashqai & X-Trail) segments were up 10 per cent and eight per cent respectively on 2018, in a market that overall was down five per cent year-on-year.