Nissan has revealed that the 20,000th Leaf has been sold in the UK, as the model claimed the Best Green Car title in the 2017 Driver Power Survey.
Having sold more than 5,000 Leaf’s since the start of the year, the Nissan continues to be the best-selling pure-electric vehicle (EV) in the country, well ahead of the likes of Renault’s Zoe and the BMW i3.
The milestone was reached as the Leaf was announced as the highest ranked green car in the 2017 Driver Power Survey. The EV shone in the ‘Best Engine & Gearbox’ and ‘Best MPG & Running Costs’ sections, winning both outright.
The survey is highly rated by both consumers and manufacturers as it questions owners on various aspects of what their car is like to actually live with – the largest survey of its kind. Categories include the MPG & Running Costs, and Engine & Gearbox sections, plus ratings for the exterior, interior, practicality, comfort, safety, reliability, and electrics.
The Leaf came in with a score of 89.99% overall, putting it in 33rd place out of the 75 models listed. The only other specialist green model in the survey was the Toyota Prius (36th with 89.76%).
Editor of Auto Express, Graham Hope, said: “The Nissan Leaf’s results in the 2017 survey indicates that the hard work that the Nissan team has put in developing the vehicle and educating the market about the benefits of electric vehicles has paid off.
“Leading the way in EVs is important. People are becoming more conscious of green vehicles (hybrids and electric vehicles) and this year we have seen a 375% increase in the number of green vehicle owners.”
Edward Jones, EV Manager at Nissan Motor (GB) Ltd said: “The 2017 Driver Power results are a fantastic recognition of the strengths of the Nissan Leaf. What’s really important is these results are based on the honest feedback of the public, so it’s a true indication of the positive ownership experience of living with a Leaf.
“Hitting the 20,000 sales milestone is further proof that the electric revolution is taking hold here in the UK. We’ve seen more demand for Leaf in the past 12 months than we had in the first 3.5 years of the car being on sale and the number of customers who go on to buy another Leaf is also significantly higher than the industry average. With the new model on the horizon, this growing demand is only set to gain pace.”
The Leaf is the world’s best selling pure-EV, and the UK is the third biggest market for the hatchback after the US and Japan. First on sale here in 2011, the Leaf took four years to reach 10,000 sales, just over a year to hit 15,000, and only eight months to pass the 20,000 mark.
You can find where to charge the Nissan Leaf by using the Filter by EV option on the Zap-Map app and map.
