A survey of more than 700 people carried out by DrivingElectric has revealed that the Nissan Leaf to be the best-known electric car. Over 94% of respondents – surveyed across DrivingElectric said they had heard of the Leaf. 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.

The more expensive Tesla Model S and 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.

Electric car giant Tesla did well in other areas of the survey, with voters putting the US brand first for leading electric-car adoption in the UK, followed closely by Nissan and Jaguar. Tesla topped the leaderboard when voters were asked which brand had the most innovative electric-car range, too, while Jaguar and BMW came second and third.

Jaguar – which launched the all-electric I-Pace in 2018 – also managed a very worthy win when participants were asked which manufacturer produced the most visually appealing electric cars. Tesla and BMW were runners-up in this category, securing second and third place.

Overall, the survey showed that Nissan, Tesla, Jaguar and BMW are well known as electric-car makers, while other brands such as Mercedes and Volvo scored lower for buyer awareness.

Electric Car Model Awareness: Top 10

1. Nissan Leaf (94%)

2. Tesla Model S (93%)

3. Jaguar I-Pace (89%)

4. Tesla Model X (88%)

5. BMW i3 (86%)

6. MINI Electric (85%)

7. Volkswagen e-Golf (85%)

8. Hyundai Kona Electric (81%)

9. Renault ZOE (81%)

10. Audi e-tron (81%)