First bunch of leafs
Nissan’s new electric plug in electric vehicle has been available for pre-order since October last year; deliveries will be starting this week. The zero-emission car is currently built in Japan, but will be manufactured in Sunderland from 2013, following the start of production of lithium-ion batteries for such cars at the plant in 2012.
The first load of the Nissan Leaf arrived in the North of East of England onboard the “City of St. Petersburg” which is Nissan’s own energy saving car carrier. It is quite fitting that the deliveries of the new Nissan Leaf – an environmentally friendly car is the energy saving vessels maiden voyage.
Simon Thomas, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Nissan International SA said, “The arrival of the Nissan LEAF, the world’s first affordable, all-electric car, in Europe is a landmark day for Nissan and European transport. The Nissan LEAF is a genuine alternative to petrol and diesel cars in terms of style, features, safety, performance and handling.”
The City of St. Petersburg vessel has a sleek and semi-spherical bow which according to Nissan and its designers reduces wind resistance by up to 50%, resulting in fuel reductions of up to 800 tonnes annually, equivalent to about 2,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions. The carrier will join the fleet of ships which also export hundreds of thousands of vehicles from Nissan’s Sunderland Plant each year.
“It is fitting that this first shipment of Nissan LEAFs is arriving on our new energy-saving car carrier, the City of St. Petersburg. We look forward to delivering these cars to the very first Nissan LEAF customers, who share our vision for an environmentally sustainable future for road transport” said Simon Thomas.
Before the Leaf could be shipped over to the UK and sold an EV charging network infrastructure had to be installed across the UK. North East England alone will have 1,300 charge points by 2013, including quick chargers capable of refuelling a Nissan LEAF from when the empty warning light switches onto an 80% charge in just under 30 minutes. Nissan’s network of EV dealers – currently 25 sites across the UK including Nissan Ireland – will all be equipped with a quick charger.
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