NISSAN has defended its decision to pre-register a Micra Inspiration for every one of its UK dealerships. The initiative is designed to ensure every Nissan dealer has a Micra Inspiration demonstrator vehicle in the run-up to the new T-plate on March 1.

A spokesman for Nissan said dealers had been reluctant to register the car as a demonstrator just prior to the plate change, so the manufacturer developed a competitive package to enable dealers to do this cost-effectively. Nissan will not debit dealers until the end of March. It will also give dealers a £670 bonus to compensate for any resale differential shortfall.