Did you know that Nissan has the broadest range of any car maker? It was a message that wasn’t lost on the journalists who thronged to the Geneva show press conference to see the unveiling of the zero emission ESFLOW.
Simon Thomas, sales and marketing chief for Nissan in Europe, pointed out that Nissan has 24 different products, including four crossovers, adding that one-in-four of crossover sales in Europe wear a Nissan badge.
The newest crossover, Juke, has already taken 70,000 orders while Qashqai has just passed the notable milestone of 1m sales.
It’s against this background that Simon told journalists that Nissan’s ambition is to re-establish itself as the No. 1 Japanese brand in Europe.
To get there, 600 new dealers have been appointed in the last five years and there are plans to add another 400 over the next three years.
Nissan arrived at Geneva with the 2011 European Car of The Year trophy already secured by the LEAF, the first time in the history of the award that it has been won by an electric vehicle.
So far 27,000 pre-orders have been taken for LEAF and, as Simon said, the problem is not demand but how to build enough cars.
And as deliveries of this ground-breaking car start across the world, Nissan has chosen Geneva to showcase its forward thinking approach to zero emissions with the ESFLOW.
Using the same electric motor and innovative Li-Ion battery packs as Nissan LEAF mounted in a front mid-ship position over the rear-wheel drive. ESFLOW concept shows how a sporting EV of the future could look.
Dramatic looks - set off by an obstruction-free wraparound front screen for excellent all-round visibility - create a real head turner. Performance is equally exciting, with 0-100km/h arriving in around 5 seconds.
If this is the future, things are looking good.