The Midnight Edition of the Nissan Pathfinder seemed like a happy icon to mark this time of the year, because Nissan has also announced its fiscal year 2017 (FY17) business results for the GCC, excluding the Saudi Arabia. The presentation pointed to a growth of more than 20 per cent in market share year on year, which was a steady 10 per cent for the larger Middle East region. They had a proud irony to point out – Nissan growing 10% against a market that decelerated its growth by 9%. In sheer numbers, Nissan sold 108,000 cars in the Gulf, and 85,000 excluding their biggest market Saudi Arabia.

Read about my Island Drive of the Nissan Pathfinder Midnight Edition or view the One Minute Drive video tonight.

About a year that saw Nissan selling almost 85,000 vehicles in the Gulf, Juergen Schmitz, Managing Director of Nissan Middle East, said: “In the past year, Nissan has continued its upward trajectory in the Middle East, growing in terms of sales, market share, customer satisfaction and brand power. We are determined to continue this growth by focusing on our customers.”

Growth and segment leadership

In the number game, Nissan throws the spotlight on a few models and their segment leadership. Market share of the Nissan Patrol range increased by 11.4 percent compared with the previous year, and 167 per cent compared with 2011. The ever-popular Nissan Patrol Y61 family (Safari and Super safari) retains preeminence with a 263 per cent increase in sales since 2011. In the other end of the spectrum, Nissan Kicks topped the compact crossover segment in FY17, with 145 per cent year-on-year increase in sales. The all-time favourite Nissan Sunny registered a sales increase of 58% in Financial Year 2017.

In developing brand image and creative use of media campaigns, accolades sought Nissan out, with eight awards at the 2018 MENA Cristal Festival, including the Festival Grand Prix while Nissan’s AQDAR Drive Safely campaign received two different industry awards for the most innovative Road Safety CSR campaign.

In November 2017, Nissan was declared as the official automotive partners of Expo 2020 Dubai, at which Nissan will showcase its latest Nissan Intelligent Mobility technologies to global audiences. Nissan will provide over 1000 cars to the Expo 2020 including electric vehicles and next generation cars.

Nissan’s priority in the region for FY18 and beyond is increasing market share, driving brand power and maintaining leadership in customer service. The company will focus on improved dealership initiatives, a host of new models and Nissan’s Intelligent mobility strategy. Nissan’s Autonomous Driving solutions – Pro Pilot is available in the Nissan Leaf and the X-Trail that are part of 120,000 vehicles in the US and Japan. The new Fiscal Year will also see the launch of Nissan Leaf, which has already sold over 320,000 units across the globe. In the changing race scene also, Nissan has taken its first step by entering the Formula E championship.

Kalyana Sivagnanam, Regional Vice President, Marketing and Sales, Nissan AMI and President of Nissan Middle East said: “With 83 countries and 44 per cent of the world’s population, Africa, the Middle East and India is a region of opportunity for car manufacturers, and we anticipate continued growth in the lead up to 2022. As one of the most promising markets in the region, the Middle East is set to play a major role in achieving our goals”. The overall financial outlook for Nissan aims at business worth 675 billion yen for the coming year. The strategy for the Middle East is a part of their six-year midterm plan for the Africa, Middle East and India region. Nissan calls it M.O.V.E. to 2022.