NISSAN JUKE: AN INSTANT 5 STAR HIT

NISSAN JUKE: AN INSTANT 5 STAR HIT

• Five star Euro NCAP rating for segment creating Juke 
• 10,500 UK firm orders in first five months after launch 
• High proportion of conquest sales 

In just five short months, Nissan Juke has achieved a five star Euro NCAP safety rating, won several national awards and seized a significant share of small car market.

From a standing start in September 2010, the innovative and distinctively styled Juke has accelerated to 6,500 retail sales in the UK claiming over 2.5% per cent of the B-segment along the way. With over one in four new cars in the UK coming from this segment, Juke's achievement is all the more important for Nissan's continued growth.

Its initial sales success will be further boosted by a strong performance in the latest Euro NCAP tests, where Juke was given a five star rating.

A testament to Juke's UK design and engineering integrity, overall quality and high levels of standard safety equipment, Juke scored an 87 per cent adult protection rating and 81 per cent for child occupant protection with maximum points for its protection of the dummy representing a three-year-old child.

The stability of the passenger compartment in the front impact also contributed to Juke's rating as did its performance in child pedestrian protection. Standard safety equipment on all Juke models includes ESP stability control and six airbags.

In developing Juke, Nissan has created a new market segment: the compact crossover. And like the hugely popular QASHQAI before it, Juke has shown that Nissan's ability to combine innovation and excitement in its models has captured the car buying public's imagination by bringing something new and exciting to market.

"Nissan dares to be different. When the QASHQAI crossover arrived three years ago, it shook the establishment by offering an exciting alternative to the conventional hatchback... and customers flocked to Nissan showrooms in their droves. Now its younger brother, Juke, is repeating that success," said Simon Thomas, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Nissan International SA.

Good sales is not only being seen in the UK with 32,000 sold across Europe. Like QASHQAI before it, Juke is bringing new customers to the Nissan brand with some 80 per cent being conquest sales.

An unusually high proportion of these sales - some 50 per cent - have been of the top Acenta Premium and Tekna grades  showing that Nissan can compete on equal terms with premium brands in the B segment. In the last four months of the year, Juke outsold cars like the Alfa Romeo Mito, Mini Countryman, Audi A1 and Citroen DS3.

"The interest in Juke is so strong, so positive, that we are confident of achieving 120,000 sales in its first full year," said Thomas.

Despite production starting only midway through 2010, by the end of the year more than 44,000 Juke models had been built at Nissan's Sunderland plant in the UK. It helped the factory to its record annual total production figure of 423,262 units.

Now in its 25^th year of operation, the Sunderland plant built its six millionth car on January 18 - a Force Red Nissan Juke.

Five versions of Juke are available, four petrol and one diesel, all with the one five-door body style that blends SUV toughness with coupé style. Power outputs range from 110PS (81kW)to 190PS (140kW). 

On higher grades, equipment can include full climate control, a rear-view parking camera, Nissan Connect satellite navigation and, a new development, the Nissan Dynamic Control System which gives the driver the option to optimise the car's dynamic performance through a sports and eco mode.

ends...

Nissan in the UK

• Nissan Motor GB sold 95,904 vehicles in 2010 (85% manufactured in the UK)
• Qashqai total sales in UK = 39048 units
• Nissan Sunderland Plant was established in 1984 and production began in 1986
• Total plant volume since 1986 stands at six million units
• In 2010 81 per cent of production was exported to 97 markets worldwide
• Sunderland Plant currently employs around 4,900 staff
• Nissan's European design centre is located in Paddington, London and employs around 50 people
• Nissan's European Technical Centre is based in Cranfield,Bedfordshire and employs around 750 people

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