In response to a rise in sales across Europe, Nissan has announced a 40% increase in production of the Micra at its plant in Sunderland. The company sold 10,445 Micras across Europe in September, making it Nissan’s second best selling model. The UK scrappage incentive scheme has benefitted Nissan in sales of Qashqai, another Sunderland-built vehicle, with a sales increase of 15% in September year on year.
Trevor Mann, Senior Vice President Manufacturing, Nissan Europe, said, “The scrappage incentives have brought sales that wouldn’t normally have been generated with Micra proving one of the most popular. Both the Government’s and Nissan’s own schemes have stimulated the market and allowed us to protect jobs at the plant and in the dealer network. The boost to production has been very welcome but we need to remain cautious as scrappage incentives are scheduled to come to an end shortly.”
The UK scrappage scheme was introduced in May 2009 to provide a boost to the UK automotive industry and to work in conjunction with other European scrappage schemes. Across the market, demand for vehicles has been underpinned by the scheme and the recently announced extension will help to sustain these early signs of recovery.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) indicates that 260,226 orders have entered the scrappage scheme up to 18 October 2009. The extension to the scheme allows for 100,000 more vehicles to participate, bringing the total to 400,000. The scheme will cease when the funding has run out or at the end of February 2010.
