New Nissan Qashqai sales top 10,000 across Europe

Nissan has announced that it had sold more than 10,000 new Qashqai crossovers in Europe by the end of June.

Deliveries of the new model – which is built in the UK at the firm’s Sunderland factory – began in the summer. Nissan has also confirmed more than 2,700 orders have been taken in the UK.

The third-generation crossover was unveiled in February and hit dealer forecourts earlier in the summer. It’s an incredibly important car for Nissan in the UK, regularly finding its way into the 10 best-selling cars each month.

In fact, despite the new one just going on sale, Nissan had no issues shifting the previous generation earlier this year. The crossover is the ninth best-selling car in the UK so far this year, delivering almost 18,000 units.

The latest generation saw a big update for the Qashqai, which now sits on a new vehicle platform. It received a stylish new exterior design, improved interior technology, and mild hybrid petrol engines.

Nicolas Verneuil, Nissan Motor GB sales director, said: “The all new Qashqai represents the best of Nissan: outstanding design, innovative yet intuitive technology, and an efficient and electrified drive that’s also agile and enjoyable.

‘‘We’re delighted with the early response to the car and the number of customer orders to date has exceeded our expectations by far.’’

The new car industry has been hit hard over the past two years. Sales nosedived in 2020 as dealerships were forced to close, then 2021 saw a shortage of semiconductor computer chips that have forced some manufacturers to pause production.

Despite this shortage, sales are up about 25 per cent on 2020, and manufacturers will be hoping that September’s number plate change will bring the usual boost in sales.