Blog of RENAULT NISSAN Alliance

Five years and more than 35,000 European sales since the launch of its all-electric LEAF, proprietary data released by Nissan for the first time shows that 99.99 percent of its battery units remain entirely fit for purpose.

 

The findings will silence naysayers who, in 2010, claimed that "batteries would need to be fully replaced after three years," or that "high-mileage LEAFs would experience a noticeable drop in battery capacity in the first year of ownership."

 

In fact, the failure rate of the battery power unit is less than 0.01 percent - or just three units in total - a fraction of the equivalent industry-wideꜞ figure for defects affecting traditional combustion engines.

 

To prove the long-term reliability of the battery technology, Nissan tracked down a rather infamous early model, whose owner is still enjoying fault-free motoring in her LEAF three years on as shown on the video below. 

 

Electric vehicle advocate and presenter of online TV channel Fully Charged, Robert Llewellyn commented: "This comes as no surprise. There was a lot of apprehension about electric technology in the beginning, but with sales climbing month-on-month I struggle to see how these myths continue to be regurgitated today."

 

The Nissan LEAF has smashed its own sales record with a 33 percent increase in sales in 2014 over the previous year, taking more than a quarter of the burgeoning electric car market with 15,098 sales.

 

Jean-Pierre Diernaz, Director of Electric Vehicles for Nissan in Europe, comments: "The facts speak for themselves. The rate of battery faults in our vehicles is negligible, even the most ardent critic cannot argue with that.

 

"The battery technology is just part of our success story. With over 165,000 customers globally, it's clear that we're not the only people who are thrilled by the success of this state-of-the-art technology."