Failure Rate in Nissan LEAF Battery Pack Very Low

A report in Europe says that the failure rate for Nissan LEAF batteries is very, very low. So low that it almost doesn't register statistically.

After more than 35,000 Nissan LEAF sales in Europe over the last five years, data is showing that battery failure rates there are very, very low. The failure rate for battery units is less than 0.01 percent, says the report from Nissan. "Failure" is defined as being unfit for use, or less than 80 percent capacity. Total battery failures in Europe totaled only three in all and the percentage of failure is far lower than that of combustion engines or even hybrids.

The analysis was undertaken by independent British insurance specialist Warranty Direct and, by comparison, showed that in total, 0.255 percent of vehicles on its books had an issue that led to an immobilization of the internal combustion engine. These ranged from coolant leaks to gasket damage or engine flooding. About 50,000 cars aged 3-6 years were included in the five-year look at vehicle disability statistics.

In the LEAF, however, Warranty Direct found that only three, or 0.01 percent, were defective during that same time frame and in that same age span.

The Nissan LEAF recorded a 33% increase in sales in 2014 over the previous year, taking more than a quarter of the burgeoning electric car market with 15,098 sales.

The Nissan LEAF launched over four years ago in 2010, as one of the first mass-market, pure-electric vehicles. It is now the best-selling electric vehicle in history, with more than 165,000 LEAF vehicles sold globally.