Passport Nissan

Nissan's great sales record is hardly news to many of you here in the United States. However, the Japanese automaker also has a very strong presence in Europe too. How strong? Well as it turns out, Nissan achieved a record market share in Europe in April. Specifically, they experienced a 35% increase in European sales during the first four months of 2011, as well as record-breaking share in April alone. This proves Nissan's increasing popularity is not isolated to North America, but rather it is a worldwide phenomenon.

Among the models contributing most to Nissan's enormous growth overseas are the Micra and Qashqi. However, the Sunderland-built JUKE crossover has also contributed heavily to sales numbers with 36,500-plus sales so far in 2011. Furthermore it is on the fast track to 60,000 sold since its launch last September. Also, the X-TRAIL SUV and Navara Pickup have puled their own weight this year too, with an increase in sales of 60% and 70% respectively.

March numbers are out! And, they show that Nissan, Japan's second-largest automaker, has achieved a healthy 9.7 increase in U.S. market share. That's the highest single-month growth in the company's history. Even more impressive: Nissan's March U.S. vehicle sales jumped a record-breaking 27 percent.

"This [March] was our best month ever,"¹ said Al Castignetti, Vice President of U.S. Nissan-brand sales. Castignetti also added that while the…