The Nissan Leaf beat its own sales record with a 33% increase in European sales in 2014 over the previous year, taking more than a quarter of the 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,” the automaker said in a statement. Last year was the fourth year in a row it topped the zero-emission sales charts in Europe.
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UK sales were 4,051 units, more than doubling the volume sold in 2013 (1,812). The model took 55% of the pure EV market and outsold its nearest competitor by more than 2:1.
European sales and marketing chief Guillaume Cartier said: “We can now see the impact that word of mouth is having on our sales, with 95% of our customers happy to recommend their car to a friend and 50% 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 sales continue to grow.
“Data from our CarWings telematics system shows us that Leaf drivers drive 40% more kilometres 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.”
| Ranking January-December 2014 | Volume | EV Passenger Car Segment share | |
| – | Total Pure EV Passenger Car Volume | 56,393 | 100% |
| 1 | Nissan LEAF | 14,658 | 26% |
| 2 | Renault Zoe | 11,227 | 20% |
| 3 | Tesla Model S | 8,734 | 15% |
| 4 | BMW i3 | 5,804 | 10% |
| 5 | Volkswagen e-Up | 5,365 | 10% |
| 6 | Volkswagen e-Golf | 3,328 | 6% |
