The Nissan Qashqai is officially the UK’s favourite car of 2022, and the first British-built model to top the annual sales charts for 24 years.

Figures released this month by the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders confirm that the home-grown Qashqai – which was designed in Paddington, engineered in Cranfield and is built in Sunderland – was the nation’s best-selling car of the last 12 months.

A total of 42,704 new Qashqais were driven off dealership forecourts across the UK in 2022 and the figure for December alone stood at an impressive 3,506, reported the SMMT.

To celebrate the achievement, an exclusive gold-wrapped Qashqai was created in honour of the 7,000 Nissan employees from around the UK that have contributed to its success.

Andrew Humberstone, managing director of Nissan Motor (GB) Ltd, said: ‘‘This is a landmark moment for a landmark car and it’s great to see how the latest generation Qashqai has struck a chord with car buyers here in the UK.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to see this car’s increasing success over the last 16 years, and it’s a fitting tribute to the skills and talents of Nissan’s excellent design, engineering, production and sales teams all around the UK.”

Three generations of Qashqai have been on sale in the UK since it was first launched in 2007, all of which have regularly appeared among individual month’s best-seller lists. However this is the first time it’s been the year’s best-selling car overall, and the first time a Nissan has topped the annual sales charts.

The latest generation Qashqai is the first model in Europe to be equipped with Nissan’s unique e-POWER technology, which delivers the exciting sensation of driving an electric car without the need to plug in and recharge. It’s unique technology that’s perfect for car buyers looking for lower emission motoring, but who aren’t quite ready to embrace fully electric vehicles.
Alan Johnson, Vice President of Manufacturing for Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK), added: “We’ve built three generations of the ground-breaking Qashqai in the north-east and it has become the mainstay of production here for 16 years.

“We’re incredibly proud of its success and it’s great to see that our passion for building it is shared by car buyers across the UK and Europe, who love its combination of practicality, exciting design, unique technology and electrified efficiency.”