Nissan unveiled its latest product line-up, including the rebirth of the iconic Nissan Micra at the Paris Motor Show.

The company also highlighted its Intelligent Mobility vision, announced at the Geneva Motor Show, with the 100 per cent electric LEAF not only on display but used as a mobile energy source to power exhibits on Nissan’s stand  using vehicle-to-grid technology.

Paul Willcox, chairman, Nissan Europe, said: “We’re delivering on our commitment of innovation and excitement for everyone with the launch of the new Micra – a modern car for modern city living that reinforces our position as a leader in automotive design and style.

“This year we have continued to strengthen our product line up, not only with the rebirth of the Nissan Micra but with the new, more brazen Nissan GT-R supercar and the Nissan Murano crossover in Russia. We’re also keeping one eye firmly on the future with our Intelligent Mobility vision, redefining how cars are driven, powered and integrated into society, and the Micra itself features many of the building-blocks of this vision.”

Nissan’s Intelligent Mobility vision, a framework to move customers around the world towards a safer and more sustainable future, is already being realised right here today.

•    Intelligent Drive: Hot on the heels of the debut of Nissan’s ProPILOT autonomous drive technology in the Nissan Serena minivan in Japan, Nissan is set to premiere the technology in Europe in the new Nissan Qashqai next year.

•    Intelligent Power: Starting with producing the world’s best-selling electric vehicle (EV), the Nissan LEAF, Nissan is always testing cutting-edge applications for EV technologies.

•    Intelligent Integration: EV battery technology has moved to a whole new level as Nissan partners with Eaton on a residential home energy storage unit called xStorage and joins forces with Enel on trials of vehicle-to-grid technology in Denmark and the UK. As a showcase of this cutting-edge technology, the Nissan stand at Paris is powered in part by the Nissan LEAF, using its pioneering bio-directional charging to deliver energy from the car to the show.

The company has also beaten its previous European sales figures, recording double-digit growth in a number of markets and countering economic headwinds with strong sales of its market-leading crossovers and EVs.

In Western Europe sales at the end of FY15 (March 2016) were up 9.4 per cent versus FY14, a record-breaking year, with major markets including Spain (+19.3 per cent), Germany (+13.2 per cent), Italy (+8.8 per cent), UK (+4.2 per cent) and France (+3.9 per cent) seeing significant increases. Sales in Europe of Nissan’s crossovers were more than 432,000 in FY15, making the company’s range the best-selling in the category.

Willcox added: “Our product line-up has never been as strong or more cohesive – showing that we’re unafraid to reinvent ourselves across all segments and disrupt the status quo. While others take a cautious view, we continue to invest in our vision of the future, right now.”

This year also marks two important manufacturing milestones for Nissan – 30 years in Sunderland, UK, and 10 years in St Petersburg, Russia. – TradeArabia News Service