Renault-Nissan Alliance sells its 200,000th electric vehicle

The Renault-Nissan Alliance has sold its 200,000th electric vehicle and has a leading 58 percent market share for zero-emission cars.

Together, Renault and Nissan EVs have driven approximately 4 billion zero-emission kilometres – enough to circle the earth 100,000 times. Renault-Nissan’s EVs represent 200 million litres of fuel saved – enough to fill about 80 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Alliance EVs also represent 450 million kg of CO2 that has not been emitted while driving.

The Alliance sold its 200,000th EV in early November, about four years after the launch of the Nissan Leaf, the world’s first mass-market electric vehicle. The Leaf remains the best-selling electric vehicle in history.

From January through the first week of November of this year, the Alliance has sold about 66,500 units — an increase of about 20 percent from the same period last year. The Alliance sells about two out of three electric vehicles worldwide, including Twizy, Renault’s two-seater urban commuter vehicle and the Nissan e-NV200 van on sale in Europe and Japan.

“Renault and Nissan’s electric vehicles are the zero-emission volume leaders – and, most important, they enjoy high satisfaction rates from customers around the world,” said Carlos Ghosn, chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. “Based on positive owner feedback and the increasing demand for cars that run on renewable energy, it’s no surprise that EV sales are accelerating – particularly in regions where charging infrastructure is well developed.”

USA and Japan lead the world in EV ownership
In the United States, the Alliance’s biggest electric vehicle market, there are more than 750 quick chargers in operation. Nissan says it is working with its dealers and charging partners to increase that number to 1,100 by mid-2015. The quick chargers are able to charge a Leaf from zero to 80 percent capacity in about 30 minutes.

This year, Nissan also launched its ‘No Charge to Charge’ program, which provides free access to selected charging stations for two years with the purchase or lease of a new Nissan Leaf. ‘No Charge to Charge’ is currently active in 12 US markets, and Nissan plans to expand to additional markets by mid-2015.

In Japan, the Alliance’s second-biggest EV market, there are more than 2,900 quick chargers in operation. Nissan and Japan’s three other top automakers have pledged to work together to raise that number to 6,000 by March 2015.

In Europe, the UK is the most advanced market in terms of electric vehicle infrastructure. Today, the quick charging network already covers 87 percent of the UK’s motorways.

With six electric vehicle models on the road, the Renault-Nissan Alliance is the only global car group with a full range of 100 percent electric vehicles – and they can be fully charged with purely renewable energy.

Nissan has sold a cumulative 148,700 units worldwide since December 2010, when the Leaf went on sale. The car has since collected industry honours including the 2011 World Car of the Year, European Car of the Year 2011 and Car of the Year Japan 2011-2012.The electric vehicle has the highest global customer satisfaction rate for any Nissan vehicle ever.

The top markets for the Leaf are the United States with about 67,000 sales since its launch, Japan with about 46,500 units and Europe with about 31,000  units.

Meanwhile, Renault has sold a cumulative 51,500 electric vehicles worldwide since its first model the Kangoo Z.E. went on sale in October 2011. Renault recently delivered its 5,000th Kangoo Z.E. to La Poste, France’s national postal service and operator of the country’s largest corporate fleet. An additional 5,000 units will be delivered in the coming years.

In addition to the Kangoo Z.E. and Twizy, Renault’s zero-emission range also includes the Zoe subcompact and the Fluence Z.E. sedan. In South Korea, the Fluence Z.E. is sold as the SM3 Z.E. under the Renault Samsung Motor badge. Like Nissan Leaf, the Zoe enjoys the highest satisfaction rate of Renault’s global product lineup.

Renault’s top markets in Europe – its main electric vehicle market – are France, Germany and the United Kingdom. In October, Renault regained the number one EV position in Europe with a market share of 31 percent. The Zoe was the most popular vehicle with a 23 percent market share.