Slow-selling Primera axed

	In the first nine months of this year, 318,000 traditional family saloons were sold in Britain. That's a huge drop over the 459,000 shifted in the same period two years ago

The family saloon has been axed from Nissan's model range in the UK - and it probably won't be replaced.

Sales of the car have slumped so low that Japanese bosses are considering not offering it again. A Nissan spokesman confirmed no more Prim­eras would be built for the UK, and that only 200 were left in stock. Instead, the firm will direct customers towards SUVs such as its Qashqai, X-Trail and Murano. "Every­one knows that the D-segment is shrinking," added the spokesman. "Whether we need to re-place the Primera in the UK is still a moot point, but it's possible we'll be the first volume manufacturer to ditch this kind of saloon completely."

In the first nine months of this year, 318,000 traditional family saloons were sold in Britain. That's a huge drop over the 459,000 shifted in the same period two years ago, and is down to drivers opting instead for more practical compact MPVs and SUVs. This year, around 9,000 Primeras will be sold in Britain, but in its best year - 1997 - nearly three times as many found homes.

The car is still popular in some countries, including Russia and Ireland, so a replacement will be designed and built for those markets in the next two years.