IT’S the car that single-handedly created a new market sector and transformed Nissan’s fortunes.
But now, with more competitors hitting the market, the Qashqai is facing tougher competition than ever before.
So, in a special feature, Nissan Insider takes a closer look at some of the facts, stats, awards and reviews that help the Qashqai retain its position as the undisputed King of the Crossovers.
The facts:
- Qashqai has delivered unprecedented results for Nissan since pioneering the Crossover revolution in 2007
- The first generation model bucked all lifecycle trends with each year outselling the previous thanks to high awareness and desirability
- In November 2014 the two millionth Qashqai rolled off the production line in Sunderland – the fastest British-built car to hit the 2million mark.
- There are now more than 320,000 Qashqai customers in the UK
- Since production of the second generation Qashqai began in January 2014, a new one has been built every 62 seconds on the Sunderland factory’s Line 1, with nearly 100,000 (20%) of these being delivered within the UK.
- Qashqai was the second best-selling retail passenger car in March 2015 and the fourth best selling overall.
- Qashqai remains among the most technologically-advanced and
well-equipped models in its class. - The Qashqai’s package of quality, style and class-leading technology make it the best-selling Crossover in Europe with France (68,044), Italy (45,464) and Spain (42,306) accounting for almost a third (31%) of global Qashqai sales.
- It’s not just Europe where the Crossover is a popular choice – the Qashqai is now in demand in 84 countries worldwide including Uganda, Zambia, and Saint Kitts, to name a few.
Important features:
- The Qashqai has a range of class-leading safety systems designed to keep motorists safe such as Blind Spot and Lane Departure Warning, Forward Emergency Braking, and Around View Monitor – which gives the driver a helicopter view from above the vehicle to aid parking.
- With Driver Attention Alert, the Qashqai analyses steering behaviour to provide an alert if signs of drowsiness or inattention are detected in the driver.
- The Qashqai was named the safest small family car by independent testing organization, Euro NCAP. It scored more points for safety than any other car in its class, thanks to a host of new and innovative safety features.
- It’s not just about keeping people safe; the Qashqai also offers extreme comfort with a spinal support front seat and a high driving position offering good visibility.
- Its low insurance costs and easy access Isofix seat mounts also makes it ideal for families.
Awards:
The new Qashqai has been showered with awards since its launch and is already one of the most decorated British-built cars of all time. Here are just a few of the Qashqai’s awards:
- Auto Express Crossover of the Year 2015
- Best Mid-Size SUV – Fleet News Awards 2015
- What Car? Awards – Best Small SUV 2014 & 2015
- What Car? Car of the Year 2014
- Green Apple Award 2014– The Green Organisation
- Overall winner – Tow Car Awards 2014
- Car of the Year – Diesel Car 2014
Press:
- The new Qashqai still regularly receives five-star reviews in the motoring media, including Auto Express in August 2015.
- And despite the launch of highly anticipated rivals, it remains at the head of the field.
- Just last month, the Qashqai triumphed over two of its crossover competitors – the new Renault Kadjar and Peugeot 3008 – in a triple test conducted by the influential What Car? magazine.
- It’s the first time the Qashqai has gone head-to-head with the newly-launched Kadjar in a major media group test and so the result is particularly encouraging – underscoring Nissan’s continued dominance of the crossover sector.
- The magazine’s testers put the Qashqai 1.6 dCi 130 n-tec up against the Kadjar 1.6 dCi 130 Dynamique Nav and 3008 1.6 BlueHDi 120 Allure.
- The magazine went on: “In the end it’s the Qashqai that emerges as the winner. It’s more refined than its French rival, is easier to drive smoothly, thanks to its better brake and clutch pedal feel, and is superior in its ride and handling too. The Nissan’s slightly classier interior is also a factor, as is its impressive equipment, although it is the most expensive car here.”
Public interest:
- The Qashqai remains the most searched for car on What Car?, both as a new car and a used car.
- That amounted to 775k page views over the last year, with around 64.5k views per month of all content tagged as Qashqai – that is news stories as well as reviews.
- Of that number, 54.9k are purely of reviews.
- That means around 45k page views per month of the new Qashqai.
- The second most popular reviews on the site are the Ford Fiesta and the Volkswagen Golf.
Marketing spend:
- Nissan continues to invest significantly in the new Qashqai to maintain its share of voice in the media.
- The share of voice spend in the second half of 2015 will be twice that in the first half of the year.
- Nearly £9m will be invested in Qashqai advertising in 2015.
- This will include £1m on digital presence and a further £1m on search
Conclusion:
In summary then, despite the arrival of new challengers, Qashqai remains out in front and there is much cause for optimism.
The technology, spec, performance and quality of the Qashqai set it apart from the competition and this is being translated into continued positive press coverage and media presence.
This, coupled with increased media spend, will ensure it remains the number one crossover choice.