Nissan has just celebrated its 5,000th Leaf model sold in the US market, with a total of 10,000 of the EV's sold worldwide. Last month, 931 units were sold in the US alone. The Leaf has sold particularly well in California, the most EV-friendly state out there. Nissan claims that about 85 percent of all Leafs sold were ordered with the 2011 model year option of a DC rapid-charging port, despite the general scarcity of publicly available DC rapid charging stations.

The rapid charging port was strictly available during the 2011 model year as a $700 option on the $33,720 Leaf SL trim. It is fair to say that most Leaf buyers made the gamble that the unofficial rapid charging standard would be officially adopted in the US. Although the Nissan Leaf is far away from reaching its green car competitor, the Toyota Prius, in sales numbers, the Leaf still continues to successfully grow in the US.