JANUARY UK SALES - NISSAN - fastest growing brand by market share, mmm, iffy !

• Fastest growing brand by market share compared with the same time last year
• Nissan car registrations reach over 11,000 for first month of the year – the best ever January in the company’s history
• UK-built stars – Qashqai, Juke, Note, and LEAF – reach highest ever January volume
• Company soars to fourth place in the UK’s top-selling brands
• January share of the passenger car market hits record high of 6.72%

Nissan Motor GB Limited has recorded its best ever start to a year with 11,076 cars sold in January – an increase of 25.9% or 2,277 registrations over the same period last year.

The company also stormed to its highest ever share of the January passenger car market at 6.72%, with the award-winning all-new Qashqai continuing its segment domination with over 4,500 sales.

Also at the heart of this sales success was Nissan’s other UK-built stars – the 100% electric LEAF, the Note, and the Juke – which all soared to their highest ever January registrations.

Nissan bolstered its position as the fastest growing brand in the UK with a total market share increase of 1%. This increased share of the car market puts the company at fourth position in the UK.

Helping to drive sales was Nissan’s diverse range of crossovers including the Qashqai, Juke and all-new X-TRAIL. Nissan continued to dominate this fast-growing category registering almost 8,000 units a 32% increase over the same period last year.

This powerful start to the year continues on from the company’s record-breaking 2014, during which 138,338 cars were sold – a 17% increase over 2013’s full year sales.

USA - RECALL - NISSAN - Rogue, Pathfinder and Infiniti JX35 SUV's for various issues.

Nissan Motor Co. is recalling about 768,000 vehicles, including its popular Rogue crossover and Pathfinder SUV, for separate problems, the company and U.S. regulators said today.

Some 552,135 Rogues from model years 2008 and 2013 will be recalled because moisture could seep through the driver side floor and cause an electrical short to wiring that could lead to a fire, Nissan and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said. Of the total, 468,815 are registered in the United States.

No crashes or injuries have been reported due to the wiring issue, a Nissan spokesman said.

Also, 215,789 Pathfinder SUVs from the 2013 and 2014 model years and 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles will be recalled for problems related to a secondary hood latch, Nissan and NHTSA said. Of that total, 170,665 are registered in the United States.

A Nissan spokesman said the problem was noticed primarily in rental vehicles when drivers unintentionally dislodged the secondary hood latch, which is designed to catch the hood from flying up if the primary hood latch is disengaged. In a handful of occasions, damage was done to the vehicles when the hood flew open, but there were no reports of crashes or injuries, the spokesman said.

In Canada, 52,312 Rouge crossovers will be recalled as well as 15,972 Pathfinder and JX35 SUVs. The Rogue will be recalled in three additional countries and the SUVs in 30 additional countries, Nissan said.