Other renewables

Nissan sells 20,000 Leaf electric vehicles

That 10,000 sold mark in USA was met this month with the magic number being delivered at some point this week. Nissan is selling the electric car Leaf globally, and worldwide sales are well over 20,000 units.

"From a Leaf perspective, 2011 was a great year and very positive for the company," explained Nissan exec Brendan Jones. "10,000 sales is more electric vehicles than have been sold in the United States – and 20,000 globally – than all the other OEMs combined throughout the world. So that’s an outstanding achievement."

If you look at the sales of other electric cars, the 10,000 number doesn’t sound like much. For instance, the Prius V wagon sold slightly under than 8,400 units in ten weeks. However, the Leaf numbers are impressive when you consider it is the first mass produced electric car that has no generator or gasoline engine to hit that sales number.

Of course, there are some downsides to the Leaf, and any other electric car for that matter. The driving range greatly varies depending on the environment and driving style. The normal mileage rating for the Leaf – according to both the EPA and Nissan – is right at 100 miles per charge.

www.nissan-global.com