The original Crossover passes production milestone in record time

Beirut, July 19, 2011: Staff at Nissan Sunderland Plant celebrated the production of their one millionth Nissan Qashqai, cementing its position as one of the most successful British-built cars ever.

The landmark vehicle was driven off the production line four years, six months and 23 days after production began on December 5, 2006. No other UK-built car has reached the million mark in such a short space of time.

The Nissan Qashqai is easily the highest-volume car produced in the UK. Future Qashqai production will safeguard the jobs of 6,000 people at Nissan and in the UK supply chain.

Kevin Fitzpatrick, Nissan Vice President for Manufacturing in the UK, said: "The Nissan Qashqai has been a phenomenal success since its start of production just four and a half years ago. Qashqai was a real crossover pioneer and producing one million in such a short space of time is a fantastic achievement, not just by staff at the Sunderland Plant, but also by the designers and engineers who developed such a popular car and our dealer network who have helped to generate such high demand."

"The Nissan Qashqai is the ultimate choice for those who want a more attractive design and distinctively providing the comfort of sedan and elegance status of an SUV. Since its introduction as the first global production designed by Nissan Design Centre in Europe, Nissan Qashqai has exceeded all expectations with a long list of pre-orders. In trend setting markets like this region, the Nissan Qashqai recorded leading results", commented Abdulilah Wazni, Senior SUV Brand Manager at Nissan Middle East.

On average, 1,200 Qashqais per day are produced at the plant, or one every minute that the production line is working. More than 80 per cent of Qashqai production is exported to 97 markets worldwide from the Port of Tyne.

The Qashqai is firmly established as one of the UK's Top 10 best-selling cars, and was the fourth best-selling model in the C-segment across Europe in the 2010 Fiscal Year. Its top five markets were the UK, Italy, Germany, Spain and France. The car's many accolades include top ranking for four consecutive years from the ADAC breakdown organisation in Germany, one of Europe's most demanding quality surveys.

The Nissan Qashqai features eye-catching interior and exterior design, cockpit cabin concept and Nissan's dynamic safety engineering.

The exterior of Nissan Qashqai has an aggressive and sporty design that reflects an image of mobile modern sophistication. Its sleek, elegant styling features dynamically arched forms and powerful rear shoulder lines. 

Nissan Qashqai is built on Nissan's "C" platform, which provides high body stiffness with extensive use of high-strength steel utilised to reduce body weight. It also comes with 18 inch alloy wheels.

Nissan Qashqai in the Middle East region offers a choice of two and four-wheel drive with a 2.0-litre engine
4 in-line that produces 142hp at 5200 rpm, mated to an advanced CVT gearbox. Nissan's highly praised electronically controlled ALL MODE 4x4Ò system and a four-wheel drive are implemented to provide greater traction for safer driving and extra control in all weathers. Other safety features include side and curtian airbags and Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC).

-Ends-

About Nissan Middle East:
Nissan is a leading automotive brand in the Middle East. It boasts one of the most popular and successful vehicle line-ups in the region. Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. became the first Japan-based car manufacturer to establish a regional Middle East HQ in June 1994. Nissan operations cover over 20 countries across the region making it one of the largest representations in the Middle East amongst Japanese automotive brands.

ABOUT RYMCO:
Rasamny-Younis Motor Company S.A.L. (RYMCO) is a joint stock company, ISO certified 9011:2008 that was established in 1957 in Lebanon and is the only automotive dealer to be listed on the Beirut Stock Exchange since 1998. RYMCO is one of the leading vehicle retail dealerships in Lebanon where it holds majority market share in the new vehicle retail industry, and commands a considerable portion of the used vehicle market. RYMCO operates a chain of independent showrooms and stores, a bonded warehouse as well as state-of-the-art servicing and maintenance facilities. The company has an automotive dealership arrangement with auto manufacturers in the US, Japan, Europe and China that include the likes of automotive giants Nissan Motors (Nissan, Infiniti), GM vehicles (GMC), Renault trucks, UD Trucks, and Kawasaki under the Leisure division. RYMCO marine is another unit within the RYMCO operations specialized in the servicing of boats under the brand name of RYMCO Marine.

In 2009, RYMCO UK was granted the right to distribute the Infiniti brand of cars in London. It will cover distribution for the area through three SSS IREDI facilities in Reading, Chiswick and Hatfield; along with a boutique in the centre of London in Piccadilly.

RYMCO SAL holds also the majority of the shareholding of free zone companies in Syria which main activity is the importation of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles and the storage of these vehicles in the free zone areas, for the purpose of reselling them to the Syrian market (mainly to a Syrian company owning the exclusive distribution for Nissan cars in Syria.)

For additional information, please visit the Nissan Media Channel on www.nissan-me.com or contact:
Rymco
Jade Ayoub
Tel: +961 1 273333
Fax: +961 1 274311
Email: jade.ayoub@rymco.com

Memac Ogilvy PR
Carmen EL Hajj / Layale Abou Antoun
Tel: +961 1 486 066
Fax: +961 1 486 064
Email: Layale.abouantoun@ogilvy.com  

© Press Release 2011