By now, we know consumers across the planet have an insatiable appetite for SUVs. But if there was any doubt, Nissan revealed a few figures recently that highlight their SUV and crossover business. Let’s just say business is good. Nissan’s global crossover and SUV sales increased more than 12 percent last year to over 2 million vehicles. By comparison, Infiniti crossovers and SUVs were up almost nine percent last year, with the QX30 seeing a 97 percent sales increase alone. In total, Nissan’s global crossover and SUV volume rose by nearly 230,000 vehicles in 2017.
The all-new Kicks played a significant part in Nissan’s global SUV expansion. The smaller crossover has already been on sale for the last year in Mexico, Latin America, and China, moving some 109,000 units. The Kicks made its North American debut at the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show and will arrive later this year in the United States and Canada. 2018 Nissan Kicks. Photo: Nissan North America.
Heavy Hitters
Other big names include the Rogue, X-Trail, and Qashqai compact models. The platform mates generated more than 1.38 million sales worldwide last year – an increase of 10 percent – meaning it’s now Nissan’s top platform by volume. The larger and recently refreshed Armada remained strong in the United States, along with the Patrol in the Middle East. Sales of that platform increased a whopping 79 percent worldwide to nearly 80,000 units.
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