The Best-Selling Electric Cars in the World

The Nissan Leaf has become the "best-selling" electric car in the world due to its reasonable price and efficiency. According to statistics from the German ZSW organization, from the start of production until the end of 2018, the Nissan Leaf achieved total sales of 360,000 units, making it the best-selling electric vehicle globally. This sales figure, while not particularly high compared to gasoline cars, indicates the challenging path electric vehicles face in increasing sales. Last year, the Toyota Corolla was the best-selling car in the world, with a total of 1,181,000 units sold in 2018. The price of this car is $19,000, while the Nissan Leaf costs over $30,000 in the U.S. The Leaf has a range of about 250 kilometers on a single charge. Analysts believe that electric vehicle sales can only reach levels comparable to gasoline or diesel cars when fast charging options are available alongside a range of about 600 kilometers at a price below $20,000. The Tesla Model S has been the second best-selling electric car in recent years, with 243,000 units sold from the start of production until the end of 2018. This car is very expensive, with a base price of about 91,000 euros in Europe. The electric power of this vehicle is 780 horsepower, and it can travel about 500 kilometers on a single charge. Its acceleration from 0 to 100 kilometers is about 2.4 seconds. The third best-selling electric car globally is manufactured by the Beijing Automotive Group. This company was established in 1985 by the Chinese government in collaboration with Daimler and Hyundai, and it quickly entered the market with the third best-selling electric vehicle in the world. The "BAIC" EC series is the third best-selling electric car globally, with 173,000 units sold since production began until the end of 2018. This Chinese vehicle has only 41 horsepower and can travel 156 kilometers on a single charge. Its price in China is about $10,000. The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is the fourth best-selling electric vehicle, achieving sales of 172,000 units from the start of production until the end of 2018. Unlike the other three vehicles, this one is a hybrid and has been sold in limited numbers in the Iranian market. This vehicle can be charged using urban electricity and features two electric motors and a two-liter gasoline engine. The Outlander PHEV has faced repair issues in Iran due to its technical complexity. The Chevrolet Volt is the fifth best-selling electric vehicle globally, with sales of 171,000 units from the start of production until the end of 2018. However, this vehicle is not a fully electric car but a plug-in hybrid, which switches to gasoline mode once the battery charge is depleted. It has an electric range of 80 kilometers. Despite some believing that electric vehicles will become widespread in the coming years, forecasts indicate that the use of hybrid vehicles, which combine internal combustion engines and electric motors, will increase over the next decade. It is noteworthy that these five vehicles have achieved the highest sales of electric cars since production began until the end of 2018. However, last year, Tesla's Model 3 achieved remarkable production growth with sales of 138,000 units, becoming the best-selling electric vehicle of the year. This is while the cheapest Model 3, expected to be priced around $35,000, has not yet entered the market, and more expensive models of this product are currently being sold worldwide.