By Drew Johnson
Thursday, Jan 12th, 2012 @ 10:06 am

Don’t tell Nissan about the ongoing economic turmoil in Europe. Despite a market that was in decline for most of the year, Nissan set European records for both sales and market share in 2011.

Nissan ended 2011 with 695,702 European sales, marking a healthy 25 percent increase from the year prior. That figure also shatters Nissan’s previous European sales record – which was set in 2010 – by 140,000 units.

Additionally, Nissan ended 2011 with a European market share of 3.7 percent – up 0.6 percent from the year prior. That market share is also a record for Nissan.

European sales could slide by 3 percent in 2012, but Nissan is confident it will continue to grow its sales.

“2011 was a tremendously successful year for Nissan in Europe,†Paul Willcox, Senior Vice President Sales & Marketing in Europe, said. “As we look ahead to 2012 and beyond, we will continue expanding our presence within the region by maintaining a customer-focused approach – delivering what people want in terms of unique, engaging and competitive products, quality customer experience and aftersales care.â€

Nissan’s European success is even more impressive when you consider it had to deal with Japan’s March 11 earthquake and tsunami.