It looks like 2014 has been a great year not only for Nissan, which is what we’re discussing here, but for the electric vehicle itself. The future is upon us whether we like it or not.

And it truly is. It’s probably already tomorrow in another time zone, isn’t it? Cars such as the Tesla Model S and BMW i3 have taken the world by storm last year, but few probably thought about which EV is actually a best seller.

It turns out that in Europe, the Nissan LEAF hit a 33% growth spurt over 2013, currently holding 26% of the entire electric car market. Basically, for the LEAF, 2014 was its fourth year in a row in which this electric family car topped the eco sales charts on the old continent.

In total, the LEAF saw approximately 14,658 units make their way into the hands of Eco-conscious drivers. 

Nissan Europe’s Senior VP of sales and marketing, Guillaume Cartier told the media that “We can now see the impact that word of mouth is having on our sales, with 95% of our customers happy to recommend their car to a friend and 50% saying they would never go back to diesel or petrol. This kind of powerful advocacy, combined with an increasing awareness of the massive running cost savings electric car drivers experience, is why our Nissan LEAF sales continue to grow.“

Now, in case it’s slipping your mind, the LEAF is a true all-electric car with a range of 120 miles or 200 km. It’s not exactly the prettiest thing to look at, but such is the way when you’re talking about a non-premium family car. It can barely hit 100km/h (62 mph) in less than 10 seconds, so make sure this is no Tesla Model S. But this is how much the future weighs in on people’s decisions.

Cartier also said that their data shows that LEAF drivers “drive 40% more km than the European average for petrol or diesel cars, covering over 16,500 km per year.” So wait, then why do 3-4 year old second hand cars always end up having something like 190,000 km when we purchase them? Oh yeah, because when manufacturers collect data, they also take into account all those people who buy their cars and only drive them on a Sunday and rarely end up selling them.

But let’s not take anything away from Nissan. Statistically, they’ve nailed it shut. Fourth year in a row too.

Looking at second place in the EV sales chart for Europe, we have the Renault Zoe with 11,227 units sold while in 3rd place followed the Tesla Model S with 8.734 units sold. The BMW i3 was 4th with 5,804 units sold.

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