Renault-Nissan Alliance sells its 350,000th EV

The Renault-Nissan Alliance, the global leader in zero-emissions mobility, has sold its 350,000th electric vehicle since  December 2010, when the Nissan Leaf went on sale.

The Alliance achieved the historic milestone in August, while also setting an industry record of 100,000 EVs sold in a single year. The Alliance today accounts for half of the EVs sold worldwide. The Nissan Leaf remains the industry’s best-selling EV ever, with more than 230,000 units sold globally. Renault is the best-performing EV brand in Europe.

“This historic milestone confirms our customers’ recognition of the benefits of Renault and Nissan electric vehicles,” Alliance chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn said. “Our commitment to contribute toward a zero-emissions world by bringing to the market a full range of affordable EVs makes Renault-Nissan the indisputable leader in EV technology.”

Historic milestones for Nissan and Renault

The Renault-Nissan Alliance is the only global car group with a wide range of zero-emission vehicles for personal and business use. In addition to the Leaf, Nissan also sells the e-NV200, a light commercial vehicle sold mainly in Europe and Japan since 2014. Along with the Zoe, Renault also sells the Renault Kangoo Z.E van, the SM3 Z.E. sedan and the Twizy, a two-seat, urban commuter vehicle.

To date, Nissan has sold more than 250,000 EVs in 48 markets globally. The Nissan Leaf has driven more than 2.7 billion kilometres (1.7 billion miles), helping prevent an estimated 455,249,190 tons of CO₂ from entering the atmosphere. The United States, Japan and Europe accounted for 90 percent of Leaf sales, with the U.S. leading the way with about 97,000 sales, followed by Japan (68,000) and Europe (61,000).

Renault reached the 100,000 EV milestone worldwide since its first model, the Kangoo Z.E., went on sale in October 2011. The milestone was marked with a ceremony in Norway, where a customer took delivery of a Renault Zoe. Zoe is the best-selling EV in Europe, and, with sales increasing 32 percent during this first six months of this year, Renault is the best-performing EV brand in Europe: One of four electric vehicles on European roads are Renault.

Improved driving range and tech innovations

Over the years, the Alliance has kept improving the range and features of its EV fleet, pushing the boundaries of what is possible with zero-emissions technology to meet customer expectations and needs.

Nissan launched the updated Leaf with 250 kilometres of range in the United States and Japan in late 2015, and in Europe earlier this year.

Renault last year improved the Zoe’s range by 30 kilometres with 10 percent faster charging times. Renault’s engineers improved the motor’s efficiency by optimising its electronic management system.

The Alliance continues to innovate by combining its EV expertise with the research and development of other advanced technologies. In January, the Alliance announced plans to launch more than 10 vehicles with autonomous drive technology by 2020. The technology will be installed on mainstream, mass-market cars at affordable prices, confirming the Alliance’s commitment to achieve its twin goals of zero-emissions and zero-fatalities.