Nissans Honoured
Published: 15th May 2003
The awards were presented at a special ceremony held at the RAC Club, Pall Mall, on Wednesday 14 May by Fleet World publisher, Ross Durkin. His verdict on the Micra’s design win was conclusive: "The new Micra represents a return to the Japanese DNA for Nissans with no attempt to copy European styling, and it works very well. It is a car that will attract attention wherever it goes – for all the right reasons. It absolutely bristles with ideas to make maximum use of minimum room.
"The new Micra has managed to make a lot of rival products look old overnight by bringing high-tech gadgetry to a mass market car, at a very affordable price. It is a good example of the Japanese doing what they are best at … packaging a tremendous little car with all sorts of technical innovations."
On the Primastar, Ross Durkin commented: "Nissan’s Primastar has caught operators’ imagination and made waves in the medium vehicle business. From its overt styling, to its fine ride and handling, to its modern common rail diesel engines, this model has delivered and as a result won universal acclaim."
Nissan’s Fleet Sales director, Dave Murfitt, accepted the award for the Micra while LCV Fleet Sales manager, Nick Andrews, picked up the Primastar’s. Speaking for both products and men, Dave said: "We’re thrilled that Nissan has won not just one but two awards. We’ve been progressively transforming our products’ image with a combination of bold styling and easy-to-use technology, building on our reputation for offering quality, value and reliability. These awards from Fleet World show that the fleet industry is noticing."
Nissan isn’t just enjoying success on the awards front. Sales
are doing well, too. 14,000 new Micras have been sold since launch
– more than the company planned for – while sales of
its light commercial vehicles are up 50% year-on-year.
