YOKOHAMA, Japan — The Nissan LEAF became the first EV in history today to pass 400,000 sales, cementing the models leading role in a global shift to more sustainable mobility. Last year, not only was the Nissan LEAF Europes top-selling electric vehicle, it was Norways best-selling vehicle of all types. Introduced in 2010 as the worlds first mass-market electric car, The Nissan LEAF led the way to making the thrill and convenience of driving an electric vehicle available to buyers outside the luxury class.
Nissan Motors has developed a number of concepts and limited-production electric cars, and launched a full-scale Nissan Leaf EV in December 2010. On 2 August 2009, Nissan Motors announced production of the Nissan Leaf, the companys first full-series electric vehicle. Japanese auto giant Nissan said on Monday that it is targeting the introduction of 23 new electrified models, of which 15 would be all-electric, by 2030.
In September 2017, the Renault-Nissan alliance announced plans for 12 new EVs to be manufactured in China by 2022. By mid-2015, the Renault-Nissan Alliance was ranked the leading global electric carmaker, with over 250,000 units delivered worldwide since December 2010. Nissan built and sold the first-generation Nissan Leaf at a time when other EV manufacturers were starting out with luxury models or compliance models built to placate regulatory bodies.
Nissan popularized the marketing buzzword “zero emissions” which is used by many EV manufacturers today, and Nissan helped to lead the way in the electric car market by having one of the more available fully electric options. The Nissan Altra is used mostly as a fleet car by companies like electric utilities. Despite a few design shortcomings and Nissans problems with holding on to the dying charging standard, the Nissan Leaf is an extremely practical vehicle, being more affordable than the BMW i3, and having a larger cargo area compared with electric-compliant cars like the Chevy Spark EV and the Ford Focus Electric.
Since its 2010 debut (yes, this was before Teslas Model S too), the LEAF held sway as the top-selling plug-in electric vehicle for a few years, and that was until the Tesla Model 3 came along. Now, with the Nissan Leafs first-generation model reportedly nearing the end of its life, seems like the right time to bid farewell to the early pioneers of EVs, and one of the best cars I have ever owned. The Leaf was able to become New Yorks first fully electric taxi, and it also demonstrated for the first time a technology for providing a home-to-car energy backup, something carmakers such as Ford are planning to introduce into the electric vehicle market.
Electric vehicle technology has made huge leaps over the last couple of years, going from being an exotic, marginal product to a new standard of car-making. Electric vehicles now include sports cars, cargo trucks, bicycles, and an array of other products designed to make transportation easier, faster, and greener.
In fact, in a sign of just how far EV technology has come, all but two models on this years Best-of list are either all-electric, or BEV, battery-electric vehicles. This EV list includes only 100% pure, battery-electric options, though more available hybrid EV options are available.
With over 370 EV models available worldwide, there are a lot of choices, whether it is a battery-electric Ford, a Chevy, or, to satisfy the Tesla nerds, a Tesla. More models are coming soon (the electric F-150 Lightning Ford pickup truck is coming soon), but there are a lot of options out there at this point, regardless of the kind of driver you are.
Volkswagen is targeting just EVs at lower prices than gas-powered vehicles. Next up is legacy carmaker GMs fully electric offering, the Chevy Bolt EV. Namely, there are several EVs on the pipeline from legacy automaker General Motors, including the fully electric Hummer.
With Nissans $17.6B initiative to turn itself into an electric car company, we could soon be seeing better, more affordable options–preferably options that are not boring, expensive compact SUVs (sorry, Aria). In fact, Teslas Model 3 for 2021 may yet become the best mass-market EV. The Tesla Model 3 is among the best-selling electric cars in 2022, and for good reason. Every automaker in the world seems to have its sights set on the Tesla, but the Tesla Model 3 remains one of the best available electric cars, boasting great range, features, and pricing, which proves Teslas are not only for 1-percenters.
The companys not-Tesla Model 3, which is currently the companys most affordable car, is the second-best selling electric vehicle in the U.S. The 2021 Tesla Model 3 is capable of achieving a range of 263 miles (on the standard battery) in one charge, and although the vehicle is more compact and bulkier than the Tesla Model S, it is priced at roughly half of that. The Nissan Leaf was an early electric vehicle to hit the market, and still goes strong at $27,400 (but with just 150 miles of range). Its 2022 Nissan LEAF EVs are barely different than 2021 models, and pricing reflects this.
Nissan Energy makes it easy for electric vehicle owners to plug the cars into power systems for charging the batteries, powering homes and businesses, or helping to balance the electrical grid. Nissans Nuvu is an all-electric, compact 2-plus-1-person urban vehicle equipped with tree-shaped solar panels positioned on its roof, which direct solar power via an in-vehicle tree-trunk-like conduit. Either way, I am thankful that Nissan gave me one of my most pleasurable and informative automotive experiences.
