THE all-electric Nissan LEAF has smashed its own sales record with a 33 percent increase in sales in 2014 over the previous year, taking more than a quarter of the burgeoning electric car market with 14,658* sales. This year the Nissan LEAF has been joined by an unprecedented number of new entrants into the EV market and has emerged as the leader on a global, US and European basis. Last year was the fourth year in a row that the electric family car has topped the zero-emission sales charts in Europe. Nissan Europe senior vice president of sales and marketing, Guillaume Cartier explains the increase in sales, commenting: “We can now see the impact that word of mouth is having on our sales, with 95 percent of our customers happy to recommend their car to a friend and 50 percent saying they would never go back to diesel or petrol. This kind of powerful advocacy, combined with an increasing awareness of the massive running cost savings electric car drivers experience, is why our Nissan LEAF sales continue to grow.” Cartier added: “Data from our CarWings telematics system** shows us that Nissan LEAF drivers drive 40 percent more kilometers than the European average for petrol or diesel cars, covering over 16,500 km per year. This data demonstrates that this car is the primary car for many households and that is changing the consumer perception of electric cars.” The Nissan LEAF was launched in early 2011 in the European market, followed by a revised version introduced in mid-2013 with over 100 improvements led by customer feedback. The Nissan LEAF is built in Sunderland, UK, with batteries constructed in a new purpose-built facility on the same site. In June 2014 the 100 percent electric Nissan e-NV200 light commercial vehicle was launched, built at Nissan's Barcelona factory, with batteries from Sunderland. — SG
