The Nissan Leaf was found to be the best-known electric vehicle (EV) in Britain, according to a survey carried out by DrivingElectric.

More than 94% of respondents – surveyed across DrivingElectric and its sister titles Auto Express and Carbuyer – said they had heard of the Leaf, suggesting that other carmakers have ground to make up with new plug-in models launched in 2020.

Now in its second generation, the Nissan was the first pure-electric production car in the mainstream family car market when it launched in 2010. It is also the best-selling electric car in the UK.

The more expensive Tesla Model S and the AM Awards 2019's Car of the Year, the Jaguar I-Pace, ranked a close second and third for buyer awareness, with 93% and 89% respectively.

The brand-new Honda e, as well as the Mercedes EQC and Smart EQ ForTwo fared worst, with less than 68% of those surveyed having heard of them.

Tesla was recognised as being first for leading electric-car adoption in the UK, followed closely by Nissan and Jaguar. Tesla also topped the leaderboard when voters were asked which brand had the most innovative electric-car range, while Jaguar and BMW came second and third.

Jaguar was revealed as the manufacturer that produced the most visually appealing electric cars, according to respondents.

Richard Ingram, editor of DrivingElectric, said: “The survey shows that brands that have been selling electric cars for the longest are the ones that buyers are most aware of.

“But with the market now offering such a great array of fantastic plug-in models, it’s more important than ever that consumers do their research on DrivingElectric.com – and consider those models that might not be household names.”



Electric car model awareness:

Nissan Leaf (94%)

Tesla Model S (93%)

Jaguar I-Pace (89%)

Tesla Model X (88%)

BMW i3 (86%)

MINI Electric (85%)

Volkswagen e-Golf (85%)

Hyundai Kona Electric (81%)

Renault ZOE (81%)

Audi e-tron (81%)

Vauxhall Corsa-e (79%)

Volkswagen e-up! (77%)

Peugeot e-208 (71%)

Honda e (68%)

Mercedes EQC (55%)

Smart EQ ForTwo (45%)

