North East-made car is Europe’s best-selling electric vehicle

The new Nissan LEAF has become the best-selling electric vehicle in Europe, according to new data.

Over 18,000 units were registered in Europe between January and June, with European customers placing more than 37,000 orders for the vehicle since it launched in October last year.

The Nissan LEAF, one of the models currently built at Nissan’s manufacturing plant in Sunderland, has a 40 kilowatt-hour battery that gives it a driving cycle range of 168 miles.

Prior to this year’s sales figures, the car was already the most popular electric vehicle globally.

More than 340,000 have sold since the first LEAF model launched in 2010.

Gareth Dunsmore, electric vehicle director at Nissan Europe, said: “The momentum continues to build for electric cars.

“The new LEAF has transformed the experience of driving, with technologies like e-Pedal, capable of reducing braking interaction by up to 90%, showing more customers the benefits of electric mobility that Nissan offers.”