Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi cemented its position as one of the world’s biggest automotive alliance by selling a combined total of 10,608,366 units in the 12 months to December 31, 2017.

Growing demand for SUVs, light commercial vehicles, and a rising number of zero-emission pure electric vehicles helped lift unit sales by 6.5 percent in 2017—the first full-year of Mitsubishi Motors’ membership of the Alliance.

Carlos Ghosn, chairman and chief executive officer of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, said: “With more than 10.6 million passenger cars and light commercial vehicles sold in 2017, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi has become the number-one automotive group worldwide [this claim is disputable since the Volkswagen Group claims to have sold 10,741,500 in the same period]. This evolution reflects the breadth and depth of our model range, our global market presence and the customer appeal of our vehicle technologies.”

In 2017, the Alliance member companies sold vehicles in nearly 200 countries under ten brands (Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors, Dacia, Renault Samsung Motors, Alpine, Lada, Infiniti, Venucia and Datsun).

Nissan sold 5,816,278 vehicles worldwide, up 4.6 percent. In the USA and China in 2017, the company achieved sales growth of 1.9 percent and 12.2 percent respectively.

Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation sold 1,030,454 vehicles in 2017, up 10 percent from 2016.

The increase in volume was led by China, a key market for Mitsubishi Motors. Performance in the ASEAN region was also strong with an increase of 17 percent to 242,224 units, thanks to the launch of Xpander– a compact multi-purpose vehicle, in Indonesia. The Philippines also ranked as the sixth globally for Mitsubishi selling 71,097 units last year.

Since 2010, when the Nissan Leaf was first introduced, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi has sold 540,623 electric vehicles worldwide through its different brands. Cumulatively, the Alliance continues as the global leader for 100% electric passenger cars and light commercial electric vehicles.

The Nissan Leaf, the first mainstream, mass-marketed electric vehicle, remains the world’s best-selling EV with more than 300,000 vehicles sold since its launch in December 2010.

During 2017, the new Nissan Leaf was unveiled and offers customers greater range, advanced technologies and a dynamic new design. It went on sale in Japan last year, and will be rolled out in other major markets during 2018. The new Nissan Leaf received over 40,000 orders globally including 13,000 orders in Japan; 13,000 reservations in the United States; and over 12,000 orders in Europe.

In addition to the Leaf, Nissan’s e-NV200, a light commercial vehicle sold mainly in Europe and Japan, has also recently been upgraded with an additional 100km of driving range in Europe.

By the end of 2022, 12 new zero-emission electric vehicles and 40 vehicles with autonomous drive technology will be launched by the alliance.

The introduction of new models and new technologies should lift the combined annual sales of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi to more than 14 million units.

Top 10 Nissan Markets

1. USA - 1,593,464
2. China - 1,519,714
3. Japan - 590,905
4. Mexico - 366,544
5. United Kingdom - 167,379
6. Canada - 146,677
7. Russia - 107,168
8. France - 81,293
9. Brazil - 78,823
10. Germany - 76,133