Nissan breaks annual record for EV sales in US

Nissan has announced that its Leaf has already broken the record for US-market EV sales in a single calendar year, with two more months to continue raising the bar even higher.
The Leaf holds the previous record of 22,610 units, set in 2013. Sales this year have surged by more than 36 percent in the US, while cumulative global sales have surpassed 142,000 units.

“With nearly 20 electric cars or plug-in electric models on the road today, Nissan LEAF remains at the head of the class, outselling the nearest competitor by 50 percent through September,” said Nissan’s director of EV sales and infrastructure, Brendan Jones.

The Leaf carries an EPA-estimated range of up to 84 miles on a full battery, which can be filled up to 80 percent capacity in just 30 minutes at fast-charging stations. Its electric motor is good for 107 horsepower and 207 lb-ft of torque.

Nissan faces increasing competition in the EV market, where it will have to compete against the Fiat 500e, Honda Fit EV, Kia Soul EV and Volkswagen e-Golf. The Leaf has so far maintained dominant market share against the Focus Electric, however Ford recently confirmed plans to slash the price by $6,000 to match its Japanese rival.