Nissan LEAF EV sales top 50,000

Nissan has revealed that sales of the electric LEAF have now topped 50,000 units since the LEAF went on sale in 2010.

We’re not fans of the electric car as a replacement for the ICE car, but some electric cars can give a fair impression (at a a price) of a traditional family car, and the Nissan LEAF probably does it better than any other electric car.

The LEAF went on sale in 2010 and, although sales have not been exactly huge, Nissan has revealed that the LEAF has now passed more than 50,000 cars sold in the 17 countries it is available, with the U.S. taking around 40 per cent of all LEAFs and Europe buying 7,000 in total.

It’s a significant milestone (and a good demonstration of how you can sell an inferior product at an inflated price if you throw enough money at it ) but it needs some perspective.

The LEAF went on sale approximately 2.5 years ago, so it’s selling around 20,000 a year. Annual car sales run at around 60 million cars, so even the world’s most successful electric car only has a market penetration of around 0.03 per cent.

Despite disappointing sales (even with the 50k milestone reached) Nissan is still pushing the LEAF hard, and has recently announced new lower prices for the LEAF and improved range and equipment. But will that be enough to get the other 99.97 per cent of the world’s car buyers motivated to jump in to an Battery EV, especially with car industry bosses saying the electric car is not fit for market?

Not with hydrogen Fuel Cell cars coming on fast, it won’t.

By Cars UK