Autoevolution.com: The Renault-Nissan alliance clearly dominated sales of electric cars in Europe last year, as both the Leaf and the new French-made Zoe increased sales, despite the fact that fuel prices are hitting record lows.
Europeans purchased about 56,000 pure electric cars during 2014 and over a quarter of those were Nissan Leafs. The Japanese brand now assembles its EV in Britain, on the same line as the Juke, so prices have fallen and supply is abundant. As a result, 14,658 customers placed an order, which is a massive 26% slice of the market.
In Britain alone, 4,051 Leafs were sold last year, more than double the number achieved in 2013 (1,812). The British-built Nissan LEAF remains the nation's electric model of choice, boasting 55% of the pure EV market.
Nissan Europe senior vice president of sales and marketing, Guillaume Cartier explains the increase in sales, commenting: “We can now see the impact that word of mouth is having on our sales, with 95 percent of our customers happy to recommend their car to a friend and 50 percent saying they would never go back to diesel or petrol. This kind of powerful advocacy, combined with an increasing awareness of the massive running cost savings electric car drivers experience, is why our Nissan LEAF sales continue to grow.”
The Renault Zoe was the second best selling EV in Europe with 11,227 vehicles. This represents a 20% share of the market. The Tesla Model S came in third with 8,734 units sold. When you factor in the price of the car, which is comparable to the Audi A6, the result is surprisingly positive.
BMW's brand new i3 came in fourth with 5,804 sales, which is a 10% share of the market. But the i3 was only available towards the end of 2014 and availability is restricted by the complexity of the model, so actually the Bavarians have a winner as well. Volkswagen ended the top selling EV list, taking both the number 5 and 6 sports.
The e-Up! city car registered 5,363 sales, almost matching the i3. The new e-Golf only managed 3,328 units, which is perhaps explained by the €34,900 price tag and late launch date during autumn.
