Nissan’s work on electric vehicles started in the late 1940s when it produced the adorable 1947 two-seat Tama mini-truck. After many decades of researching and showing all-electric concept cars, Nissan transformed the EV world when it launched the Nissan LEAF in 2009.
The futuristic first-generation LEAF would go on to become the world’s best-selling EV for nearly a decade. By 2018, when Nissan introduced the second-generation LEAF, the battery-powered compact hatch was available in 60 countries on four continents. It surpassed 400,000 sales in March 2019.
Nissan also sold the all-electric Nissan NV200 delivery van in Europe until 2021. Additionally, in late 2022 the Japanese automaker will offer the Ariya electric SUV. It’s a high-performance, all-wheel-drive big brother to the LEAF.