THE price of the Nissan Leaf - Britain's most popular all-electric vehicle - is being cut to make it more attractive to company car users.

The starting price of a Leaf 40kWh is now £26,345 for an Acenta version, including the £3,500 Plug-in Car Grant, while range-topping Tekna models are from £29,345 - drops of £1,650 on all grades.

For company car drivers, the reduction places the entire 40kWh Leaf range in the sub-£30,,000 P11D price point on which benefit in kind taxation rates are based

From April 2020 there will be zero per-cent BiK tax on electric vehicles, rising to one per-cent from April 2021 and two per-cent from April 2022.

With electric vehicle sales in the UK continuing to rise significantly, production of the Leaf at Nissan's Sunderland plant has also been ramped up to meet demand.

Nic Verneuil, marketing director of Nissan Motors (GB) Ltd, said; "Nissan is always improving the competitiveness of its vehicles, ensuring customers enjoy a better buying and ownership experience.

"We've not only secured additional factory production to make Leaf more accessible, but as a result we've also been able to significantly lower the price tag of the car in market, making it more affordable. If customers are ready to make the switch, they shouldn't have to wait to get behind the wheel of an electric vehicle."

In the first 11 months of this year the market share for 100 per cent electric vehicles has more than doubled from 0.6 per cent in 2018 to 1.5 per cent in 2019.

EV registrations have almost tripled, up 135.6 per cent to almost 33,000 units, according to the latest figures from the SMMT.

In November alone, electric vehicles achieved a 3.0 per cent market share, with 4,652 sold - 537 of which were the Nissan LEAF, making up 12 per cent of EV sales.

The Leaf range has also received two specification upgrades to benefit both driver and passengers.

Two rear USB connections have been added to all versions with the ports fitted to the reverse panel of the centre console and are easily accessible to rear passengers.

Standard on Tekna - and optional on N-Connecta versions - the car's LED fog lights have also been upgraded to include a cornering function. This feature illuminates the fog lights during tight cornering to give greater visibility to the road ahead.

The Leaf has a range in the region of 170 miles on a single charge for the 40kWh model while the longer range Leaf E+ is rated officially closer to 240 miles.