Nissan strong sales in China have come to an abrupt halt thanks to the diplomatic spat between China and Japan over the Diao Yu Islands. Toyota have also suffered a similar fate as Chinese consumers stayed away from Japanese brands, either out of patriotic duty or due to Japanese cars being destroyed in riots. Japanese car sales fell back in October and November but Nissan reported that dealer visitor numbers were improving from December onwards.

Total sales for Nissan China reached 1.18 million in 2012, a fall of 5.3% over 2011’s sales were 1.247 million units were sold.