Last month in Europe Nissan achieved 59,681 unit sales. This is more than 8,000 up on November 2010 and takes calendar year-to-date sales above 637,500 units (+26% year-on-year).

Strong sales of the Sunderland-built Qashqai and Juke crossover models, together with brisk sales of the X-TRAIL SUV, contributed to an overall monthly European market share of 4%, which is 0.5% up on November 2010.

The Micra supermini also made an important contribution with nearly 5,500 monthly sales. The ever-popular Micra became even more appealing in September with the addition to the range of a 3-cylinder, supercharged 1.2 petrol engine. The Micra DIG-S delivers just 95g CO2 / km making it one of the cleanest and economical petrol engines in the world.

The top performing markets for November included Russia where Nissan achieved a 60% upswing in sales versus 2010; the UK (+18%) and France (+11%). The Nordic region, including the Baltics, also posted a 20% increase.

Guillaume Cartier, vice president Sales Operations Europe, said:'Throughout the year we have seen our monthly sales trending significantly above 2010, and this has continued into November.

'Although we recognize a great deal of additional effort will be needed to firmly establish Nissan as the leading Asian brand in Europe, 2011 has witnessed a step change in our performance and presence within the region as we push towards that goal.'