Wednesday 26 November 2014

Renault-Nissan reaches 200,000 EV sales

FleetNews.co.uk: The Renault-Nissan Alliance has sold its 200,000th electric vehicle and has a leading 58% market share for zero-emission cars.

Together, Renault and Nissan EVs have driven approximately 4 billion zero-emission kilometres - enough to circle the earth 100,000 times.

Renault-Nissan's EVs represent 200 million litres of fuel saved - enough to fill about 80 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Alliance EVs also represent 450 million kg of CO2 that has not been emitted while driving.

The Alliance sold its 200,000th EV in early November, about four years after the launch of the Nissan LEAF, the world's first mass-market electric vehicle. Nissan LEAF remains the best-selling electric vehicle in history.

From January through the first week of November of this year, the Alliance sold about 66,500 EV units-an increase of about 20% from the same period last year.

The Alliance sells about two out of three electric vehicles worldwide, including Twizy, Renault's two-seater urban commuter vehicle and the Nissan e-NV200 van on sale in Europe and Japan.

"Renault and Nissan's electric vehicles are the zero-emission volume leaders - and, most important, they enjoy high satisfaction rates from customers around the world," said Carlos Ghosn, Chairman & CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance.

"Based on positive owner feedback and the increasing demand for cars that run on renewable energy, it's no surprise that EV sales are accelerating - particularly in regions where the charging infrastructure is well developed."

The top markets for Nissan Leaf are the United States with about 67,000 sales since its launch, Japan with about 46,500 units and Europe with about 31,000 units.

In the United States, Leaf is on track to be the top electric vehicle in 2014, outselling all other electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Sales so far this year are up 35%, and Leaf has enjoyed 21 consecutive record sales months and has already shattered its own yearly US sales record with two months to go.

In addition to Leaf, Nissan also sells the e-NV200 van, which went on sale in Europe in June and in Japan in October.

Meanwhile, Boulogne-Billancourt, France-based Renault has sold a cumulative 51,500 electric vehicles worldwide since its first model the Kangoo ZE went on sale in October 2011.

Renault recently delivered its 5,000th Kangoo ZE to La Poste, France's national postal service and operator of the country's largest corporate fleet. An additional 5,000 units will be delivered in the coming years.



In addition to Kangoo ZE and Twizy, Renault's zero-emission range also includes the ZOE subcompact and the Fluence ZE sedan.

In South Korea, the Fluence ZE is sold as the SM3 ZE under the Renault Samsung Motor badge. Like Nissan Leaf, Zoe enjoys the highest satisfaction rate of Renault's Global product lineup.

Renault's top markets in Europe - its main electric vehicle market - are France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

In October, Renault regained the number one EV position in Europe with a market share of 31%. Zoe was the most popular vehicle with a 23% market share.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance is a strategic partnership between Paris-based Renault and Yokohama, Japan-based Nissan, which together sell one in 10 cars worldwide.

The companies, which have been strategic partners since 1999, sold 8.3 million cars in nearly 200 countries in 2013.

The Alliance also operates strategic collaborations with automakers including Germany's Daimler, China's Dongfeng, and India's Ashok Leyland and has a majority stake in the joint venture which owns Russia's top automaker, Avtovaz