DO small cars have a place in the future for corporate buyers? With increasing pressure to improve the environment and ease congestion, Iker Lazzari, fleet director at Nissan GB, sees the B segment as a vital part of a wider offering to fleet managers.

It’s a major part of his push to encourage corporate sales of the latest generation Micra. Lazzari said: “Small vehicles are important for those working in urban areas who need a smart and efficient runaround. Our challenge initially is to get people into the car.

“Once we can do that I am certain we can change the perception people have of Micra. The car has been completely transformed from the previous generations with smarter, more sporty styling and much improved and more upmarket interiors along with a range of technologies normally only found in larger cars.

“If you take the build quality, the new styling, variety of personalisation, the Bose sound system there is a lot of added value there that will appeal to corporate customers and make them feel confident about residuals.”

New Micra is just a part of a bigger picture, however. Lazzari said the car forms part of a broader offering of vehicles from Nissan ranging from the B-segment to electric vehicles and everything in between including commercial vehicles.

He added: “We want our corporate customers to appreciate that when dealing with Nissan GB we can offer a full range of vehicles and can fulfil all their fleet needs.”

Nissan is historically coy about sales or market share aspirations or even the split between retail and corporate sales.

Lazzari said: “What I can say is that we are confident we will be able to meet any demands in terms of production and supply. The important thing is to get the new Micra into the hands of the fleet managers and influencers as well as their field teams.”