NISSAN Motor (GB) has sold its 500,000th vehicle since the company was established in January 1992 - a 2.0 GT Primera bought by Barclays Bank. The bank, which operates a 6,000-strong fleet, about half of which are Nissans, has been a customer of the manufacturer for four years.

Achieving the landmark with the sale of a company car underlines the role fleet business has played in Nissan's UK growth. In five years Nissan has seen a ten-fold growth in fleet sales to more than 45,000 cars last year and this year fleet sales already number more than 36,000 units - 7.1% up on the first eight months of last year.

Nissan fleet director Simon Carr said: 'We are delighted with Nissan's success in the fleet market. We feel it is due to many reasons, but keeping wholelife running costs low and ensuring high resale values certainly makes Nissan an appealing package.'