Nissan has built the 500,000th second generation Qashqai on its production line in Sunderland, UK. Achieving the feat in a record-breaking 21 months, the segment-pioneering flagship crossover has become the fastest ever UK-built vehicle to smash the half million production mark.
Since start of production in January 2014, a new Qashqai has been built every 62 seconds on Sunderland’s Line 1 with nearly 100,000 (20%) of these being delivered within the UK.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The announcement sees the Qashqai beat previous records set by the MK1 Ford Cortina, which took 34 months to hit the half million landmark, and the Austin/Morris 1100/1300 which reached the same benchmark in 29 months.
Originally designed for Europe, the crossover is now sold in 84 countries including Uganda, Zambia, and Saint Kitts.
“The Qashqai is going from strength to strength,” said Paul Willcox, chairman, Nissan Europe. “Half a million in just 21 months is an astonishing achievement and proof that the Qashqai is hitting the spot with buyers. Together with the pioneering first generation version, there are now more than 2.5m on the road in Europe, making Nissan the undisputed leader in the crossover sector.”
Total global production now tops 2.5m. From late autumn 2015 the model will also be assembled in St. Petersburg for domestic sales in Russia.
