The Renault-Nissan Alliance has sold its 250,000th electric vehicle: a white Renault Zoe sold to a French engineer. The Alliance reached the milestone in early June, 4 ½  years after the launch of the Nissan Leaf, the world’s first mass-market zero-emission vehicle.  

The Alliance today accounts for half of the electric vehicles sold worldwide and the Leaf remains the best-selling electric vehicle of all time, with more than 180,000 units sold. From January through May, the Alliance sold about 31,700 EVs — up nearly 15 percent over the same period of last year. 

“Demand for our electric vehicles continues to grow thanks to government incentives and the expanding charging infrastructure,” said Carlos Ghosn, chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. “The positive response of our customers is also driving demand. These vehicles enjoy some of the highest levels of satisfaction rates from our customers around the world.”

With six models on the road, the Renault-Nissan Alliance is the only global car group with a full range of 100% electric vehicles. In addition to the Leaf, Nissan also sells the e-NV200 van, which has been on sale in Europe and Japan since last year. In addition to the Zoe, Renault also sells the Renault Kangoo Z.E van, the SM3 Z.E. sedan and the Twizy, a two-seater urban commuter vehicle. 

The Japan-based Nissan has sold 185,000 electric vehicles worldwide since December 2010, when the Leaf went on sale and is today sold in 46 markets. Nissan’s top EV markets are the United States, with about 80,000 sales since the Leaf’s launch, Japan with about 53,500 units, and Europe with about 41,500.  

Renault, based in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, has sold 65,000 electric vehicles worldwide since its first model, the Kangoo Z.E., went on sale in October 2011. 

Renault was the No. 1 EV brand in Europe for the last two months, with a market share of 26 percent. Renault’s top markets are France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Norway.