NISSAN GAINS MOMENTUM IN EUROPE
Rising production, innovative new models and continued EV leadership are helping Nissan towards becoming the top Asian brand in Europe
- 12 new product launches in the last 12 months
- Increased production at sites in the UK, Russia and Spain
- Global EV leadership underlined by arrival of e-NV200
- Major sports sponsorship as Nissan partners UEFA Champions League
Paris, France, 02 October 2014 - With a 12 new product launches in the last 12 months, award-winning plants running at maximum capacity, global leadership in zero-emission mobility and a headlining role in European football for the next four years, Nissan has arrived as a driving force in Europe's automotive marketplace.
With the strongest and most cohesive line-up in its history, Nissan has continued its momentum in Europe with launches this year into new product segments including a second pure electric vehicle with the e-NV200, a mainstream C-segment hatchback with Pulsar, and a staggering nine new vehicles for Russia, including the country's first affordable hybrid.
As a result, Nissan remains on track to achieve its goal of becoming Europe's Number One Asian brand by 2016. Sales and market share have risen in most countries in Europe, where Nissan claims 3.7 percent of the total market. In 2013, the company sold 664,471 vehicles across Europe, with a target of 780,000 units in 2014. France accounts for 15 percent of Nissan's European sales, making it the third largest market in Europe behind Russia and the U.K.
"With the arrival of Pulsar as one of 12 new models launched in the last 12 months, Nissan has the strongest and most cohesive line-up in its history. We are reinventing sectors with exciting new market entries," said Paul Willcox, Chairman of Nissan in Europe. "Innovation and excitement are a part of everything we do, including our trailblazing efforts in bringing electric vehicles to the mass market, and our commitment to bringing autonomous cars to market by 2020 - the next step in advancing vehicle and road safety."
Manufacturing
Nissan is committed to the European market and to local production, with the vast majority of all Nissan cars, light commercial vehicles and trucks sold in Europe built in Europe. In 2013, Nissan's total European production topped 675,000 units and it is expected that that figure will be beaten in 2014.
Nissan's plant in Sunderland, UK (NMUK) remains a global benchmark for productivity and quality, building more than 500,000 units a year. Sunderland builds Nissan Qashqai, Juke and Note as well as the world's favourite electric vehicle, Nissan LEAF, along with the advanced lithium-ion batteries that power it.
Electric vehicle production has also now started at Nissan's Spanish plant in Barcelona where e-NV200 in both van and Evalia people carrier versions are rolling off the lines alongside the conventionally powered NV200, Pathfinder, Navara and the Nissan Primastar.
Barcelona has also started building Nissan's brand new Pulsar hatchback, marking the brand's return to the mainstream C-segment of the market, as well as preparing to build Nissan's forthcoming One Ton pickup, beginning in 2015.
Spain has also seen the arrival, this year, of Nissan's new medium duty truck, NT500, which is built at the Avila plant alongside the smaller NT400.
Production is booming in Russia, already Nissan's largest market in Europe - and the fifth largest globally - and where Nissan, in conjunction with the recently re-introduced Datsun brand, aims to triple sales over the next four years to claim a market share of at least 10 percent.
The company is now building cars at four different locations in the country: St. Petersburg, Togliatti, Izhevsk and Moscow. Production at St. Petersburg is due to double to 100,000 units in the near future, at which time five models will be built there, including the new Pathfinder 4x4, whose petrol/electric variant will be the first hybrid vehicle ever to be produced in Russia.
Meanwhile the Renault-Nissan Alliance strategic partnership with AvtoVaz with plants in Togliatti and Izhevsk will see a total of three Nissan and two Datsun models rolling off the lines by early next year: the new Nissan Sentra will be produced in Izhevsk, while the new Datsun mi-DO will join production of the Nissan Almera and Datsun on-DO in Togliatti.
This explosion in Russian production numbers means that by 2016, 90 percent of the vehicles sold in Russia by Nissan and Datsun will be built in Russia. As well as bringing huge benefits to the Russian economy, it also means Russian drivers can be assured that their cars will have been designed not just to meet their every need but also to cope with the sometimes challenging road and weather conditions across the country.
Electric Vehicles
Global sales of electric vehicles have accelerated in 2014, with the Nissan LEAF leading the charge as the world's best-selling electric car ever. To date, more than 135,000 examples of the multi award-winning EV have been sold worldwide, with Europe accounting for more than 28,000 of that total. LEAF drivers are satisfied drivers - with a 95 percent customer satisfaction rate being the highest in the Nissan line-up.
And customer interest in the LEAF continues to rise, as concern about air quality in our cities increases and as quick charge networks continue to expand, making electric cars an even more attractive option.
Earlier this year, for example, dangerous levels of pollution caused by vehicle exhaust led to the authorities in Paris restricting private vehicle access to the city centre with an exception made for electric vehicles, while in London free access to the centre is now given to zero and ultra low emission vehicles only.
Without doubt EV sales will be further boosted by the recent arrival of the Nissan e-NV200 van, which is built in Spain for the global market and designed to bring affordability and efficiency to businesses large and small.
Based on the award-winning NV200 compact van, e-NV200 uses proven technology from Nissan LEAF to create an exceptional zero-emission vehicle that is perfect for the inner city by losing none of the capability of NV200 but gaining access to environmentally sensitive areas.
A number of significant fleet deals have already been secured for e-NV200, including contracts with British Gas, telecommunications provider Orange, and DHL Italy, while zero-emission taxi versions are being engineered to suit the specific demands of different markets.
With electric vehicles helping modernise today's businesses, the next chapter in the electric vehicle story has truly begun.
UEFA Champions League
Nissan will be on every football fan's lips over the next four years, as the company partners the UEFA Champions League. Innovation that excites is part of everything Nissan does, and with 4 billion cumulative viewers, nothing excites more fans around the world than the UEFA Champions League. This global sponsorship is Nissan's largest to date in its dedicated and powerful sports portfolio.
Nissan has recently confirmed Paris Saint-Germain captain Thiago Silva, and Barcelona and Spain midfielder Andrés Iniesta, as global ambassadors for the partnership.
"We are absolutely delighted to welcome Thiago and Andrés to the Nissan family as our UEFA Champions League ambassadors and we are really excited that they will be heavily involved in our brand new global advertising campaign," said Bastien Schupp, Vice President, Marketing, Nissan Europe.
"As two of the game's leading players with multiple titles between them, they will bring their passion and enthusiasm to Nissan as true engineers of excitement."
As well as featuring in a series of television commercials demonstrating how innovation is key to creating excitement for football fans and drivers alike, they will feature in personal appearances, match day events, social media content and more.
