New Nissan LEAF

Or probably more like 23,000-plus.

Regardless of what the actual figure is, the new Nissan LEAF is hotter than hot right now. And it's not even available in the U.S. yet.

2018 Nissan LEAF

We're not surprised by this, as the LEAF has been the #1 selling electric car worldwide, but 14,000, 19,000 or even 23,000 units "sold" in the first month of availability beats even our lofty expectations.

We recently reported that new LEAF sales nearly hit 4,000 units (3,629 to be exact) in its first month in Japan, plus a near equal amount in Europe. But that's not all. If we look at orders, not refundable deposits, but actual orders placed through dealers, the numbers soar.

Some reports put the total ordered in Japan at 9,600 units in October alone. Nissan fulfilled 3,629 of these orders, but then was hit by an inspection scandal that brought deliveries to a halt on almost all Japan-built models. Daily Kanban reports:

"All but 3,629 could not be delivered, because Nissan is in the throes of an inspection scandal that continues to make headlines in the island nation..." "On October 19, Nissan stopped all deliveries to the Japanese market."

2018 Nissan LEAF

Editor's Note: The stoppage of vehicle shipment was due to Nissan's discovery that non-authorized/approved workers were being utilized to do final inspections on vehicles leaving the factory. Basically, the last quality control check was a big fail. Subsequently, Nissan recalled those vehicles.

Were it not for this stoppage, Nissan would've likely been able to deliver all 9,600 orders units of the new LEAF in Japan, plus those 4,000 or so in Europe. That would've brought the first month total to nearly 14,000, an impressive figure, but still short of the number we've been told.

Admittedly, it's hard to track foreign sales/deliveries, but when we test drove the new Nissan LEAF in Japan the first of this month, we received a firm number for Japanese sales from Nissan. In its first month on the market, new LEAF sales (in Japan alone) hit...are you ready for this?

"In Japan, the new generation of the electric hatch went on sale on October 2 and has already accumulated more than 19,000 orders. It costs 3,990,600 yen, or equivalent to US$ 35,000."

An order should basically be considered a sale. All Nissan has to do is deliver the LEAF and it's a done deal. The paperwork is all in place, meaning the buyer can't really back out at this point.

So, if we're actually at 19,000 in Japan alone, then with Europe included, the figure is an unmatched and astonishing 23,000-plus units for the 2018 LEAF is its first month of availability.

Source: Daily Kanban