Beijing (ZXZC)- Nissan Motor started the year of 2022 with a decline in total sales in China. However, its Venucia brand managed to over double its monthly sales volume in the meantime, the automaker disclosed on February 9th.

SYLPHY; photo credit: Nissan Motor

In the first month of 2022, Nissan Motor sold a total of 133,467 vehicles in China, declining 8.7% year on year. The automaker blames the scattered COVID breakouts, and the crimped raw material supply.

With 111,333 vehicles sold, Nissan Motor’s passenger vehicle joint venture, Dongfeng Motor Co. & Ltd. (DFL), saw a 11.4% slump in sales compared to a year ago (including Nissan, Venucia, and Infiniti brands).

Specifically, Venucia sold 10,008 vehicles, more than doubled from the previous year, at 126%, while Nissan sold 100,018 vehicles in January.

Nissan’s Sylphy series maintained its leading position in sales, with 49,982 vehicles sold in the country. Notably, the automaker’s seventh-generation Nissan ALTIMA created the best sales record within the company, with 18,739 vehicles sold in January, surging 19.1% year on year.

The light commercial vehicle sector of the group (including Dongfeng Automobile Co. & Ltd. and Zhengzhou Nissan) managed a 7.4% year-on-year increase in its January sales to 22,134 vehicles.