The Nissan Leaf has retained its position as the biggest selling electric car on the planet, suggesting the thirst for eco-friendly motoring continues to build momentum.
Nissan announced the figures, which show the Leaf is now the third biggest selling car in Norway, with 2,450 units sold in 2016 to date. That’s an increase of 58.7 per cent compared with the same period a year earlier.
Sales of the Leaf in Europe, meanwhile now sit at 16,916 cars for the 2015 to 2016 fiscal year, a figure Nissan has called an annual record. 15 per cent of new car sales in Norway in 2016 are electric so far.
Nissan Europe director of electric vehicles Gareth Dunsmore said: “Norway is spearheading the switch to sustainable mobility and we’re delighted that the Nissan LEAF continues to be ranked as one of the most popular vehicles in the country.”
“Nissan has been at the forefront of the electric vehicle movement since the introduction of the Nissan LEAF in 2010 and with its third generation now available, we are confident that we will retain a leading position in the ever-expanding EV market,” he added.
Nissan released a new version of the Nissan earlier in the year, which has a larger 30kWh battery and an EPA-rated range of 107 miles. A smaller 24kWH version with a range of 84 miles is also available. A 200-mile variant is expected but has not been officially confirmed.
The Tesla Model S is another big seller in Norway. It is the Californian company’s biggest European market and represents an estimated eight per cent of its total sales worldwide.
More than one million electric vehicles had sold worldwide as of September 2015. A study earlier in 2016 suggested all-electric cars will represent 35 per cent of all cars sold globally by 2040.
Norway has been in the spotlight recently as the UK looked to leave the EU (and has now voted to do so), membership of which the Nordic country has rejected twice.
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