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Nissan says Leaf battery packs are nearly bulletproof

Like the old 1970s Schoolhouse Rock song (and an early-90s remake from hip-hop artists De La Soul), three, indeed, is the magic number. That's how many Nissan Leaf batteries have conked out in Europe during the past four-plus years. Out of about 35,000. I'd hate to be a member of that unlucky trio. The Japanese automaker says it has shut up the naysayers who once crowed that electric motors may be less reliable than gas- or diesel-powered engines. Nissan has done so by maintaining a 99.99 percent "battery success rate" in Europe. With only an on-board charger, inverter and motor, the Leaf's electric motor costs 40 percent less to maintain that gas- or diesel-powered engines. Nissan does seem to be getting more converts across the Pond. Nissan boosted European sales of the Leaf by about 33 percent last year to more than 15,000 units. Meanwhile, here in the States, sales jumped 34 percent last year to more than 30,000 vehicles, though early 2015 sales appear to be down as lower gas prices are leading American car shoppers to larger, more gas-swilling vehicles. Still, Nissan recently said it surpassed sales of 75,000 units in the US and we expect the March sales numbers to show that the Leaf has become the top-selling plug-in vehicle in US history. Take a look at Nissan Europe's press release below. Related Videos: Nissan LEAF battery reliably outperforms cynics, critics and alternatives Five years on, Nissan reports 99.99% battery success rate across Europe More reliable than a petrol or diesel engine, according to industry averages Nissan LEAF is the world's best-selling all-electric car, with over 165,000 sold globally Rolle, Switzerland, 23 March 2015: 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 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-wide? 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: http://youtu.be/6V1bJJwJhEg Electric vehicle advocate and presenter of online TV channel Fully Charged, Robert Llewellyn commented: "This comes as no surprise.

Nissan breaks annual EV sales record with two months to spare

Nissan has sold more pure EVs in the US this year than any other automaker, ever. And there are still two selling months left. Last year, Nissan sold a record 22,610 Leaf electric vehicles in the US. This year, through the end of September, Nissan sold 21,822 Leafs and has been selling more than 2,000 a month for the last seven months (in some cases, over 3,000). Basic math skills make it clear that 2014 would handily beat 2013, so now we get to play the guessing game to figure out by how much. Nissan isn't yet saying what October sales were (the month isn't over yet, and we're expecting the numbers on Monday) but if we look up the general trend for the last quarter of 2013, sales stayed steady (compared to the previous months) in October and November and then shot up in December. Given the overall increase in 2014 versus 2013 (up 36 percent through the end of September), who wants to bet that Nissan will sell more than 30,000 Leafs this year? Anyone? Compare Leaf sales with the other plug-in vehicle that went on sale alongside the Leaf at the end of 2010: the Chevy Volt sold over 23,000 units in 2012 and 2013 but is way down so far this year (14,540 through the end of September). An updated Volt will go on sale in the second half of 2015. Nissan has not disclosed when a new Leaf will go on sale. Nissan has sold over 142,000 first-gen Leafs around the world and over 64,000 in the US. Nissan LEAF sets annual U.S. electric vehicle sales record - again NASHVILLE, Tenn. – With more than two months remaining, Nissan LEAF has shattered the record for the most U.S. electric vehicle sales in a single calendar year, surpassing the previous record of 22,610 that it set in 2013. "With nearly 20 electric cars or plug-in hybrid models on the road today, Nissan LEAF remains at the head of the class, outselling the nearest competitor by 50 percent through September," said Brendan Jones, director, Nissan electric vehicle Sales and Infrastructure. "Since the initial launch in 2010 our primary goal is to bring electric vehicles to the mass market in a practical and fun-to-drive package, and we continue to deliver electric cars to more new buyers than anyone else." LEAF sales in 2014 through September are up more than 36 percent compared to the same period last year. With more than 142,000 LEAF sales globally since launch and more than 64,000 of those in the U.S., Nissan is the global leader in electric vehicles. (Nissan will announce October U.S. sales on Monday, Nov.

Airbag recall widens to include BMW, Chrysler, Ford and Toyota

The recall of faulty airbag inflators supplied by Takata has exploded today to grow to seven automakers. In most cases, only models in certain high-humidity regions were affected because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found in its investigation that moisture played a roll in determining whether there would be a problem. However, some companies opted for national campaigns. The exact number of affected models for these campaigns isn't yet known at this time.
BMW is recalling an undisclosed number of 325i, 325Xi, 330i and 330Xi models from the 2001 through 2005 model years and the 2001-2006 model year versions of the 325Ci and 330Ci for the driver side and passenger side inflators. Only vehicles currently registered in Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and the US Virgin Islands are covered under this recall.
Neither Chrysler's filing with NHTSA nor its press release list the specific models affected, but a company spokesperson told Autoblog that at this time it only covers the driver and passenger side inflators for the 2006 Dodge Charger in Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and the US Virgin Islands