Nissan and Renault have now sold over 100,000 electric vehicles between them– Of the total, the vast majority are Leafs. Nissan’s electric car has now sold over 71,000 examples worldwide since hitting the streets in 2010. Europe has approximately 12,000 of these on the road.
It makes the Leaf the most numerous electric car ever sold with sales fiqures in Ireland far ahead of it’s competitors.
The remaining 30,000 or so vehicles are split between Renault’s various electric offerings. The French automaker sold its first electric vehicle, the Kangoo Z.E. delivery van, in late 2011.
Since then, Renault has introduced further electric vehicles under the Z.E. banner, including the Fluence saloon and its most recent arrivals the Zoe and Twizy.
Of these, the Twizy is selling best, with over 11,000 sold since its launch in early 2012.The Zoe is quickly catching up, with over 5,000 units sold across Europe since debuting in March. Priced competitively with equivalent petrol and diesel models, makes the Zoe one of a few electric cars competing directly with conventional vehicles.
Renault holds an impressive 61 percent of the European Electric car market, a testament to the brand and its commitment to the technology, though with several other automakers set to release zero-emission vehicles over the coming years, Renault’s share is unlikely to remain that high for long.
Overall, electric vehicles from the two marques have covered over half a billion electric miles ,enough for 20,000 laps of the planet. It’s also a saving of 14 million gallons of oil, and a whole lot of pollution in the process.