2014 Nissan LEAF Leaps to New Monthly Sales Record

The all-electric 2014 Nissan LEAF—backed by an 84-mile driving range and a post-incentive net price as low as $21,480—broke the 3,000-sales barrier for the first time in its career in May, delivering 3,117 units and growing volume by 45.8 percent versus the same month of 2013. Also notable: Those May numbers include the 50,000th LEAF sold in this country, with that milestone achieved when the Bolt family took delivery of their new 2014 Nissan LEAF in Dallas.

Said Todd Bolt, who probably is unrelated to Nissan pitchman/sprinter Usain Bolt: "Beyond the simple economics of not buying gas, we've been impressed with how well the LEAF drives. When we show the LEAF off to family and friends, they're surprised that the car is so quiet and rides so well. The LEAF does everything we need day-to-day, and given the financial savings, I don't know why we'd buy another gas car."

Of course, different drivers do have different needs, and the gas-powered Nissan roster continues to satisfy them in record numbers as well. In fact, joining the 2014 Nissan LEAF in the May record books were five more top performers, including four right from the heart of the brand's lineup.

The 2014 Nissan Altima midsize sedan led the way with 36,053 sales last month, marking a May record, a 12.9 percent increase and a historically high total for a sedan. Although you can’t tell by looking at the May leaderboard—featuring seven cars with more than 30,000 sales each—reaching that mark has been a tough feat for anything but full-size pickups in recent years.

Then, moving to the compact and subcompact segments, the Nissan Sentra (21,932 sales, up 75.4 percent) and Nissan Versa (11,243 sales, up 30.5 percent) also pitched in with May records, as did the Nissan Rogue in the compact crossover category; the Rogue's 18,722 sales last month reflected an 8 percent gain in volume.

The 2014 Nissan Juke notched 3,825 sales in May, for a 33.4 percent spike in demand, and it was the final record setter for the brand—at least in terms of individual vehicles. The Nissan division also earned a sales record, raising the ol' bar for the 14th time in the past 15 months on the strength of 125,588 deliveries and a 17.8 percent gain.