Nissan electric car first
August 2nd, 2009 by Richard Aucock
NISSAN will, next year, become the first car maker to sell an affordable all-electric rival to the Ford Focus.
The LEAF is a five-door hatchback with an electric motor that has a 100-mile range. Good enough, according to Nissan research, for nearly three-quarters of world car buyers’ daily drives.
It will go on sale in 2010 – and, longer term, could even be made here in the UK!
The new Nissan LEAF is powered by advanced lithium ion batteries. These are identical to those recently announced to be made in Nissan’s Sunderland factory.
Impressively, these hi-tech batteries can also be charged 80 percent full in half an hour, adding to the car’s real-world usability.
Nissan reckons the zero-CO2 motor ‘ushers in a new era of mobility – the zero-emission era’.
Prices have yet to be confirmed, but the firm hints it will be comparable to a well-equipped family hatchback: priced around the sub-£20k mark, alongside the Toyota Prius, we wonder?
In addition, it will also get lots of tax breaks – the Government’s promise of giving £5000 off the list price of electric cars could provide a further incentive in the future.
The LEAF signals Nissan’s intentions for a greener future, says the company. Out of nowhere, it will, next year, become the world’s first Focus-rivaling electric car that’s genuinely useable – and affordable. We can’t wait to try it.
But, Nissan car dealers currently buoyed by the success of the Qashqai, what do you make of it? We’d be keen to find out…
Blog: But did they have to call it the LEAF?
Tags: electric, ev, leaf, Nissan, sunderland
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