In celebration of World EV Day, Nissan marked the production of the 500,000th Leaf, the world’s first mass-market 100% electric car, at its Nissan plant in Sunderland.

With half a million Leaf cars built globally, customers around the world continue to embrace the pioneering zero-emission vehicle. The latest milestone was achieved almost a decade after the model first went on sale. The Sunderland plant has built more than 175,000 Nissan Leaf cars since it began producing the model in 2013.

Nissan’s manufacturing facilities in Sunderland continue to manufacture the car to the highest standards to ensure that every Leaf embodies innovation and excitement, while striving to make advances in sustainable mobility.

The Nissan Leaf has won accolades around the world including Car of the Year 2011 in Europe, World Car of the Year 2011, and Car of the Year Japan in 2011 and 2012. More importantly, the car has earned the trust of hundreds of thousands of customers.

The 500,000th Leaf has been united with its new owner Maria Jansen, in Norway. She said: “My husband and I chose to buy a Nissan Leaf back in 2018, and we loved it. We are very excited to become the proud owners of the 500,000th Nissan Leaf — a car that really meets our needs with extended range and enhanced technologies.”

The Leaf offers customers advanced technologies to enhance safety, comfort and control on the road. These include the award-winning ProPILOT – a “hands-on, eyes-on” system that allows the car to stop, restart and stay centred in its lane – and e-Pedal technology for one-pedal driving.

With more than 14.8 billion clean-air km driven since 2010, Leaf owners around the world have helped prevent more than 2.4 billion kg of CO² emissions.

During recent lockdowns, air quality improved around the world due to a decrease in CO²-emitting activities. In Europe, studies show that 68% of people support measures to prevent a return to previous levels of air pollution.

Helen Perry, head of electric passenger cars and infrastructure at Nissan Europe, said: “Consumers have seen what cleaner air and reduced noise pollution feel like during lockdowns. Now more than ever, they are looking to take positive steps towards a more sustainable future and the Nissan Leaf contributes to this effort.”