DUBAI: Japanese carmaker Nissan expanded its market share in the Middle East for the third consecutive year, registering a 3.3 percent growth in sales in 2014 to a record 219,129 units.

In the Gulf Cooperation Council, Nissan recorded an 18.1 percent increase in stakes with 185,135 units sold in 2014 compared to 156,778 in 2013, growing its market share by 0.8 percentage points to 10.3 percent.

Nissan plans to sell 240,000 units in the GCC by fiscal year 2016, expanding its market share to 12.3 percent, the company’s regional director announced during a news conference at the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

Nissan based its sales forecast on oil prices around $65 per barrel and a yen-dollar exchange rate of 120.

“This is our third successive year of record growth in the Middle East and the momentum will continue,” Nissan Middle East’s managing director, Samir Cherfan, said.

Cherfan told The Daily Star that he didn’t expect fluctuations in oil prices and currency exchange to affect Nissan’s growth trend in the GCC region in the coming few years. Cherfan attributed Nissan’s success to its broad product line, dealership network and top-quality customer service.

Nissan maintained the second place in terms of sales in the UAE with 63,036 units sold in 2014, a 10 percent increase compared to 2013, bringing its total market share in the country to 15.3 percent. Nissan came in third place in Saudi Arabia with a 7.2 percent market share selling 61,806 units after the first year of operation under a revival plan with dealer Alissa Auto. The revival plan resulted in 141.7 percent growth in sales year-on-year.

The Patrol, Sunny and Pathfinder models were among the top performers in Nissan’s lineup. The company said 34,015 units of the Nissan Patrol were sold in 2014, up by 35 percent compared to last year while sales of the Nissan Sunny grew 30 percent to 29,688 units in 2014. Nissan Pathfinder recorded a 15 percent growth with 6,800 units sold while the Nissan X-Trail sales increased by 300 percent to 4,400 units.

According to Cherfan, Nissan not only achieved growth in sales but also in terms of brand recognition.

Nissan’s brand purchase consideration in the UAE increased by 46 percent in the past two years while it strengthened by 27 percent in Saudi Arabia, he said.

On a global level, Nissan reported a 17.6 percent year-on-year increase in net income to $4.2 billion in the fiscal year 2014, while net revenue rose 8.5 percent to $103.6 billion. Operating profit rose to $5.4 billion, representing a 5.2 percent margin on net revenues.

For fiscal year 2015, Nissan forecast a net income of $4.2 billion based on yen-dollar exchange rate of 115. Sales are projected at 5.55 million units, up 4.4 percent compared to 2014 and equivalent to a global market share of 6.5 percent.