He is putting the pillars of support in place in anticipation of a “product avalanche” that will see the company launch an all-new Note, revised Leaf and a facelifted Micra this year, and a new Qashqai in 2014.

It will also launch a completely revised X-Trail which will be re-positioned as a D-segment crossover in much the same way as the Qashqai is a C-sector crossover.

“We have a window of opportunity to increase the awareness of the brand in fleet,” says Pollock.

“We will be increasing our spend by £1 million this year on driving events to give people exposure to our models.”

This awareness drive will include both cars and vans, promoting the fact that Nissan can offer a full range of vehicles from car-derived vans to 4.5-tonne LGVs.

It also recognises that future growth will need to include further headway into niche sectors, such as its new factory-fit chiller van.

High fleet satisfaction

Nissan has enjoyed strong growth over the past few years, delivering a 60% rise in sales since 2008.

A decade ago, 100,000 units a year was usual for the manufacturer, but sales dived to a low of just 66,000 in 2006/2007 before the brand’s return to form in 2012.

Nissan has some very satisfied customers among end-user fleets.

Analysis by Sewells Research and Insight highlights strong levels of fleet satisfaction for areas such as build quality and SMR costs.

Its worst performance is for its range of suitable vehicles, as fleets struggle to fit the niche line-up alongside the more traditional offering of rivals.

There are also minor gripes with CO2 emissions and wholelife costs among those who have decided to drop the brand from their choice lists.

However, from a sample of 893 fleets not currently running the brand, 55% said they would consider Nissan in future, showing it has lots of potential fleet sales growth ahead.

Factfile

Corporate sales director Jon Pollock
Time in role five months
Fleet car sales (2012) 50,990 (up 6.5%)
Fleet van sales (2012)  10,136 (down 6.6%)
Dealer network 195, of which 72 are fleet specialists

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