Nissan happy to reveal it smashed its own sales record for the 4th year running in Europe.

• 2014 European sales rise 33% over 2013 as  UK-built car accelerates sales
• Nissan LEAF leads with 26% of the rapidly growing electric car market
• UK sales top 4,000 units, more than doubling 2013 volumes
• Sales driven by strong customer advocacy with 95% recommendation rate

The all-electric Nissan LEAF has smashed its own sales record with a 33 percent increase in European sales in 2014 over the previous year, taking more than a quarter of the burgeoning electric car market with 14,658 sales.

This year the Nissan LEAF has been joined by an unprecedented number of new entrants into the EV market and has emerged as the leader on a global, US and European basis. Last year was the fourth year in a row that the electric family car has topped the zero-emission sales charts in Europe.

Moreover, the all-electric LEAF clocked up 4,051 sales in the UK, more than doubling the volume sold in 2013 (1,812). The British-built Nissan LEAF remains the nation's electric model of choice, boasting 55% of the pure EV market and outselling its nearest competitor by more than 2:1.

Nissan Europe senior vice president of sales and marketing, Guillaume Cartier explains the increase in sales, commenting: “We can now see the impact that word of mouth is having on our sales, with 95 percent of our customers happy to recommend their car to a friend and 50 percent saying they would never go back to diesel or petrol. This kind of powerful advocacy, combined with an increasing awareness of the massive running cost savings electric car drivers experience, is why our Nissan LEAF sales continue to grow.”

Cartier continued: “Data from our CarWings telematics system* shows us that Nissan LEAF drivers drive 40% more kilometres than the European average for petrol or diesel cars, covering over 16,500 km per year. This data demonstrates that this car is the primary car for many households and that is changing the consumer perception of electric cars.”

The Nissan LEAF was launched in early 2011 in the European market, followed by a revised version introduced in mid-2013 with over 100 improvements led by customer feedback.The Nissan LEAF is built in Sunderland, UK, with batteries constructed in a new purpose-built facility on the same site. In June 2014 the 100 percent electric Nissan e-NV200 light commercial vehicle was launched, built at Nissan’s Barcelona factory, with batteries from Sunderland.

Ranking January-December 2014		Volume	EV Passenger Car Segment share
-	Total  Pure EV Passenger Car Volume	56,393	100%
1	Nissan LEAF	14,658	26%
2	Renault Zoe	11,227	20%
3	Tesla Model S	8,734	15%
4	BMW i3	5,804	10%
5	Volkswagen e- Up!	5,365	10%
6	Volkswagen e-Golf	3,328	6%

WHAT CAR AWARDS - Suzuki makes four in a row with a best buy for the Suzuki Swift Supermini.

• Best buy hot hatch for less than £15,000 for the fourth consecutive year

Suzuki celebrated some great news at the 2015 What Car? Magazine awards as the Swift Sport has been awarded a ‘Best Buy’ accolade for the fourth year in a row. The performance flagship of the Swift range was comprehensively judged by the editorial team against some strong competition, and the final vote resulted in it yet again receiving the ‘Best Buy Hot hatch for less than £15,000’.

With a high standard specification that includes satellite navigation, DAB radio, USB connection and auto air conditioning, Swift Sport still remains considerably cheaper than £15,000 at £13,999 for three door and £14,499 for the five door model.

Swift Sport is available in a choice of four standard metallic paint finishes and is also  equipped with seven airbags, cruise control, High Intensity Discharge headlamps, rear privacy glass and 17-inch alloy wheels. In addition to satellite navigation and DAB radio, the Sport also has voice recognition, Bluetooth connectivity and music streaming compatible with ipod/ iphone.

Jim Holder, What Car? Editor comments: “Even before you take into account the fact that you can get a Swift Sport for less than £14,000, it epitomises what a hot hatch should really be about.

"It has a 1.6-litre engine that absolutely loves to be revved to within an inch of its life as it produces its 134bhp and 118lb ft of torque. Those are fairly small numbers, but then the Swift is a fairly small car that doesn’t weigh much, so it can scamper along the road at a decent lick.

"It changes direction as quickly as a Scalextric car when you want it to and grips strongly when you need it to. Granted, there’s a firm edge to the ride, but it isn’t unbearable and rather suits the character of the car.”

The engine’s high output is combined with excellent fuel economy of 44.1mpg on the EC Combined Cycle; CO₂ emissions are 147g/km and a bespoke exhaust system yields a sporty note and the Sport is fitted with a six speed manual transmission as standard.