Nissan celebrates a major milestone of 1,000,000 all-electric vehicle sales globally since the Leaf model entered the market in December 2010.
This is a result that not too many manufacturers can match, but at the same time, it’s coming significantly later than the company initially anticipated when it signed up for EV investments 15 years ago. Let’s recall that in 2010, Nissan’s former CEO Carlos Ghosn forecasted 500,000 BEV sales annually by 2013.
If we look at the cumulative BEV sales by region, it turns out that the highest number of electric Nissans are in Europe:
- Japan – 230,000
- North America – 210,000
- Europe – 320,000
- China – 230,000
- Other regions – 10,000
- Total – 1,000,000
* As of June 30, 2023; Figures are rounded, represent vehicle units
The top-selling Nissan model happens to be the Leaf (no surprise here), as it was offered right from the start and globally (currently it is offered in approximately 50 markets, centering on Japan, the US, and Europe, the company explains).
According to Nissan, more than 650,000 Leafs were sold, including 500,000 sold between December 2010 and September 2020.
Nissan LEAF milestones since December 2010:
It means that the combined cumulative sales of Nissan’s other models (retired Nissan e-NV200 van, Nissan Ariya launched in 2022, all-new Nissan Townstar EV van, and Nissan Sakura kei car in Japan) stand at roughly 350,000 units.
According to Nissan, the Sakura received cumulative orders of 50,000 units in Japan (we are not sure how many were delivered).
Let’s recall that the retired Nissan e-NV200 was at about 42,000 sales in Europe alone in Fall 2021 (the model was first launched in 2014, and a small number were exported to Japan).
2030 Targets
Nissan was an early mover in terms of all-electric cars, but later on, it slowed down and the flow of new BEVs slowed down. As a result, the Japanese brand lost its early leadership.
After a few turbulent years, the company has set new targets under its Nissan Ambition 2030 long-term vision. It says that there will be 19 all-electric model launches by fiscal year 2030 (up from 15 announced earlier).
An interesting addition is the goal to introduce in-house developed solid-state batteries by fiscal year 2028 (at least in some models, as we understand).
