Nissan Europe's Sales Plunge

Nissan Europe's jewel in the crown, the Qashqai


The car markets of Europe are notoriously difficult to make money in. The UK is one of the more profitable, hence why car makers importing from Europe are fearful of a trade barrier. Overall it is a challenging environment that recently had GM pulling out of the region altogether and Ford is realigning its business from volume to profit driven.

Nissan Group Production : 2016-18 (Regions & Nations)

For production, there are four regions I have created to see where vehicles are made. Chinese partner Dongfeng's production is not included in the main data list but I placed it at the bottom of the chart.

Asia: It's accounts for over half of all production for the Nissan Group and China now manufactures half of that. This region will continue to contribute more volume in the future.

Nissan Group Sales : 2016-18 (Regions & Nations)

The brands under consideration here are Nissan, Infiniti, Venucia and probably Dongfeng. The latter two are Chinese brands with Venucia a subsidiary of Dongfeng and Dongfeng a 50/50 joint venture company with Nissan. Sales listed here are very close to production numbers, so if few Nissan cars are imported, then it covers all four above brands.

There are six regions below and I will briefly

Infiniti Euro Sales (By Model) : 2003-2019

A better car than its reception deserved. 


The premium wing of Nissan touched down in Europe for 2003. It had a battle on its hands as premium car buyers are paying that premium to get something with a reputation of quality above the mainstream car. Until a name has cachet it will sell in minuscule numbers to a few aficionados. That seems to be what has happened to Infiniti.

In 2003, there

Nissan/Infiniti US/Mexico Production (Model) : 2017-18

Nissan's North American assembly plants are to be found in the USA and Mexico. In both cases the numbers involved are impressive.

USA: After years of growth, the past two years have seen declines, -8% and now -10%. Cars have been the main reason but trucks too haven't been spared. The range of trucks is varied, with eve an Infiniti model. With Nissan and Infiniti sales in the US at 1,494,000,

Nissan Flexes Its Muscles

The X-Trail isn't exactly flavour of the month in Europe anyway

It amazes me the shallowness of most journalists covering the car industry. They swallow the spin they are fed without doing any digging for the real story. In some cases, the spin suits their opinion so they promote it fully knowing it is misleading. Thankfully there are still some journalists that live up to that designation and

Nissan South Africa : Holding Its Own

For the last decade and a half, Nissan has been averaging just over the 4% mark for market share in the RSA. It's still around there but maintained only with the recent help of its sub-brand Datsun. As mentioned in others in this series, there is a market here for budget model cars and Nissan has been able to accommodate those customers.

In the last few years as sales in the RSA have

Important New Premium Cars At Frankfurt 2015

Making premium cars is a good place to be. Plenty of buyers are paying enough to make reasonable margins in an industry that overall doesn't make enough money to cover the steep costs associated with it. Four new premium cars are highlighted below, all of which will soon be in showrooms.




Alfa Romeo Guilia: FCA is putting a lot of money into the four leaf clover marque. This compact executive

UK Car Industry: Nissan #1

Nissan was a popular brand in Britain way back in the 1970's, reaching 4th best selling make in 1977. By 1984, Nissan agreed to build a plant at Sunderland, the deal sealed with an assurance of tax-free purchase of industrial machinery which would soften the high initial set up costs. However, a 1984 budget proposal would stop that and put the venture at risk. Mrs Thatcher stepped in and the deal

Japanese Premium Marques

Honda decided to launch a premium marque in 1986 - Acura - basically for the North American market. It has been sold in a few other nations but in a limited way. It doesn't even sell in Japan, although there was a plan to do so in 2008 but not carried out. Vehicles are made in Japan, the US and Canada.




Toyota followed with the Lexus brand and a similar objective. However, it became an

Nissan Global Production Car/LCV By Nation : 2011-14

The Nissan X-Trail/Rogue going well


Nissan is the 5th largest car brand with 6% of global sales. They are growing nicely and profit is up as well. In 2011 China accounted for 27% of production but is down to 23%, a good sign as too much dependence on China - or indeed any market - is fraught with risk. Within the same time frame the US has increased its contribution to production from just

New Nissan Qashqai Arrives In NZ

The Qashqai with some typical NZ scenery behind. 


Why is this important? Well, the vehicle in question is a popular type of model for this country. It also reflects a company that looks at the global picture in making decisions. The fact that a car made the other side of the world is sent here, when a not too dissimilar X-Trail already is available shows Nissan wants a sizable slice of the

Nissan Sunderland's New Infiniti Models

Nissan in Sunderland is in an area of the UK which is less prosperous than average. Imagine how important the Nissan plant is there. It produces the Nissan Note, Juke, Qashqai and Leaf models.











Now an additional 60,000 capacity is being added for the Q30 and QX30 models. They will both be made for the global markets. I know nothing much about Infiniti as they do not grace the roads of

Renault/Nissan Daimler

An existing plant in the same area as the new one

One cooperation deal that has flown under the radar for me is this one. Since 2010, Renault Nissan and Daimler Benz have been working together in various ways, especially with smaller cars. Now they will share a plant in Mexico, building compact vehicles about 500 km above Mexico City at Aguascalientes.

This makes sense as smaller vehicles are

Nissan Leaf Price Slashed In NZ

So quiet and clean even the wildlife didn't hear or get a whiff of it


You would think that 'clean, green' New Zealand would be promoting cars that were environmentally friendly such as electric. Most power here is hydroelectric which is ideal for such cars. Unfortunately no, but as a free market economy, cars with electric propulsion have to go it alone. The price has been prohibitive and

Nissan e-NV200 Van

The e-van in the usual Nissan aqua blue


Vans in Europe are generally diesel fuelled, an engine that is robust and economical. However, Nissan is lobbing into the market a Spanish built Nissan electric van. The maker claims lower running costs, better handling and reduced emissions. Lower costs are the fuel, but mainly through less maintenance expense. The battery is placed low and centrally

Renault/Nissan Want In On Top Three Spot

The Nissan Juke & Renault Captur 


The top three car makers, Toyota, GM and VW Group are a clear top three in car making numbers. They are all about or close to 10 million vehicles made in 2013. Back some way is the Renault/Nissan Alliance at just over 8 million.

When the Alliance was formed in 1999, it was Renault that was the stronger. Nissan then became the more successful of the two and

The Nissan Juke-R Is Coming....Be Scared

Nissan has decided to put into production its outrageous Juke-R crossover in a very limited run on build-to-order basis. I have been reading about it in NZ car magazines and I thought what a shame it will never reach the public. Well Nissan has the 'you know what' to do things that others won't. Nissan say: "The 3.8-litre, 160mph Juke-R made its global debut in Dubai in January this year,

New Model At Nissan Sunderland

Nissan UK keeps on growing. Back in 1986, Nissan UK assmebled 5,000 Primeras. Local content increased, as did numbers. In 1991, the 100k figure was passed with 125,000 Primeras made. The Micra was added in 1992 and 246,000 cars were produced in 1993 at the plant. The Almera joined the production line in the year 2000, when the 300k mark was passed (327,000). 2010 was the first time 400k was

Nissan Worldwide Production By Nation: 2008

In 1999, with Nissan facing severe financial difficulties, it entered an alliance with Renault. The outcome of that is that Nissan is 44.4% owned by Renault and 15% the other way around. The two companies work closely in "develop synergies while conserving the corporate culture and identity of each brand". Nissan sales include its upmarket Infiniti brand, which is produced mainly for the North