Double scoop at Fleet News Awards 2008

Thirteen hundred influential fleet industry people gathered at the Grosvenor hotel in London to celebrate the 20th Fleet News Awards. This high-profile event, designed to acknowledge the best the industry has to offer, saw two accolades go to Nissan for two of its most successful and distinctive vehicles. Taking ‘best small family car’, the Qashqai saw off stiff competition from the Honda Civic, Peugeot 308 and Vauxhall Astra. Navara Pickup was pitched against the Mitsubishi L200 and the Toyota Hilux, coming away with the title of ‘Best Working Vehicle’. Both awards were collected by James Douglas, Director Fleet Sales Nissan Motor (GB) Limited.

On collecting the awards James commented: “Qashqai has consistently received praise and awards from the media during its first year of sales. To get this recognition from Fleet News demonstrates how well the vehicle has also been received by the fleet industry.

“Qashqai’s unique design has carved out a new sub-segment within the market and its high sales demand shows just how clearly it meets the expectation of today’s fleet customers.”

He continued: “Navara is a great vehicle for fleet users with its versatility, being an able workhorse throughout the week and a family vehicle at the evenings or weekends. This award confirms why it is the UK’s number one Pickup.”

Nissan’s popular crossover, Qashqai, has now picked up no fewer than six awards since going on sale in March 2007. Designed at Nissan’s European Design Centre in Paddington London, engineered at Nissan’s Technical Centre in Cranfield, Bedfordshire and produced at Nissan’s award winning plant in Sunderland, Qashqai has sold over 20,000 units during its first year of sales.

Navara, produced at Nissan’s production plant in Barcelona Spain, first went on sale in 2005 and became the top selling pickup in the UK during 2007 taking over 29% of the sector with more than 11,000 sales.