THE new Nissan Leaf is the best-selling electric vehicle in Europe for the first half of this year, the Japanese manufacturer announced today.
More than 18,000 of the zero-emission cars, which are produced in Sunderland, were registered in Europe between January and June. European customers have now placed more than 37,000 orders for the new Leaf since it first went on sale in October 2017.
Its larger, 40 kilowatt-hour battery delivers a combined driving cycle range of 168 miles under Europe’s new WLTP emissions and economy standard.
Gareth Dunsmore, electric vehicle director at Nissan Europe, said: ‘The momentum continues to build for electric cars. The new Leaf has transformed the experience of driving, with technologies like e-Pedal, capable of reducing braking interaction by up to 90 per cent, showing more customers the benefits of electric mobility that Nissan offers.’
The 100 per cent electric vehicle has won several awards for its technology and performance, including the 2018 World Green Car trophy at the New York International Auto Show, and has received five-star safety ratings from both Euro NCAP and Japan’s equivalent.
The latest Leaf features a host of new technologies, with Nissan saying that so far 72 per cent of new Leaf buyers have chosen models equipped with the ProPILOT semi-autonomous driving system.
More than 340,000 global sales of the Leaf have been made since the first one was launched in 2010. Last month, Nissan delivered the 100,000th Leaf to European customer Susana de Mena of Madrid.
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On WorkshopMagazine.co.uk: Our Fleet – Nissan Leaf