THE lack of sales of the Primera in the fleet market is leading Nissan to change its tactics and focus on its successes in the sports utility vehicle sector.

But trading performance promises to be boosted by the switch in marketing tactics, claims Nissan GB national fleet director Dave Murfitt.

He said: 'I want our network to put less effort into the Primera and work harder at selling the X-trail, where the returns are potentially greater because of the lower need for incentives.'

As a result of the change, Nissan will aim to register 10,500 Primeras and a similar number of X-Trails. At its launch in November 2001, Nissan GB was hoping to register 24,000 Primeras to fleets a year.

Murfitt added: 'Rather than pulling out of the fleet market, we are refocusing our efforts. I see little point in forcing product when demand falls away. It will be far more profitable for us to channel our efforts into the SUV niche sector.'

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