Category Archives: Leaf

Longer-range Nissan Leaf intro reportedly delayed due to Ghosn scandal

December 4, 2018Electric Cars, Leaf, News, Reviews and Comment, NissanRepost

Nissan doesn’t want chairman’s arrest to overshadow the Leaf’s debut.

When it introduced the second generation of the Leaf electric car in 2017, Nissan promised that a “higher power, longer range version at a higher price” would arrive in 2019. However, with Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn embroiled in a scandal, it seems we’ll have to wait a little longer for that long-range Leaf.

Reuters quoted an unnamed Nissan spokesperson as saying the introduction of the long-range Leaf has been delayed because of Ghosn’s legal troubles. The automaker reportedly wants to time the car’s introduction, “to ensure that this important product unveiling could receive the coverage it merits.” The car was reportedly scheduled to debut this week at events in Japan and Amsterdam. Nissan apparently has not yet set a date for the reveal of the new model, and it’s unclear whether or by how much this delay will set back the retail launch of the bigger-battery Leaf in 2019.

Hyundai Kona Electric vs Nissan Leaf

November 28, 2018Electric Cars, Hyundai, Kona Electric, Leaf, News, Reviews and Comment, NissanRepost

What’s the best affordable small electric car on sale? We test the new Hyundai Kona Electric against the Nissan Leaf to find out…

For years the Nissan Leaf had the affordable electric car market to itself, sewing up the sector with a balance of range, practicality, performance and affordability that made electric cars viable for many, if not the masses. But now there’s a new challenger.

Hyundai has launched its Kona Electric, and with a choice of battery sizes available packaged in an SUV body, it’s an appealing choice that matches the second-generation Leaf for price, range and performance.

EVs are here to stay, but has Hyundai nailed it with the Kona Electric? Or have Nissan’s years of experience with its all-electric hatch paid dividends and put it ahead of the competition? We find out.

Hyundai Kona Electric

For: Range, infotainment, slightly cheaper than the Leaf but just as well equipped as standard.
Against: Boot not as big as the Nissan’s, ride can sometimes be a little lumpy.

Hyundai’s compact Kona SUV was designed with an all-electric variant in mind, so buyers don’t have to make too many compromises with the packaging when compared with a petrol or diesel model.

The electric motor is mounted up front in place of a conventional engine and gearbox, and drives the front wheels through a single-speed automatic transmission. This means there are no gears; you simply select ‘D’ and drive, which makes it a smooth experience, just like in the Leaf.

Nissan Leaf gets approval for vehicle-to-grid use in Germany

November 3, 2018Charging, Electric Cars, Leaf, News, Reviews and Comment, Nissan, V2GRepost

So-called vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology is a connection between the EV and the grid through which power can flow from the grid to the vehicle and vice-versa. That potentially enables car owners to sell energy to the network, while utilities could use electric cars as a backstop if demand rises.

Nissan said it would initially target corporate clients with fleets of more than 60 electric vehicles, adding that services based on V2G technology would be offered in Germany from next year onwards.

There will be 280 million electric vehicles by 2040, according to estimates by the International Energy Agency, compared with more than 3 million last year.

“We strongly believe in an emission-free future,” Guillaume Pelletreau, Vice President and Managing Director, Nissan Center Europe, said. “Leaf batteries could make an important contribution to energy transition in Germany and a sustainable future.”

185,000 Plug-In Cars Were Sold In Europe In First Half Of 2018

August 21, 2018BMW, e-Golf, Electric Cars, i3, i3 94Ah, Leaf, Mitsubishi, Model S, Model X, News, Reviews and Comment, Nissan, Outlander PHEV, Renault, Sales, Tesla, Volkswagen, ZOE, ZOE Z.E. 40Trevor Larkum

June was the second-best month all time for plug-in electric car sales in Europe with more than 38,000 units put on the road.

With year-over-year growth of 37% in June, market share jumped to 2.4% (2.2% for the first half of the year).

The total sales in the first six months nearly hit 185,000 (43% more than a year ago) and it’s expected that more than 400,000 is possible in all of 2018.

Ultra-low emission registrations up 386% on first quarter of 2014 (Image: OLEV) — Ultra-low emission registrations up (Image: OLEV)

The top five best selling models in Europe – for the year are:

Nissan LEAF – 3,377 and 17,944 YTD
Renault ZOE – 3,425 and 17,016 YTD
BMW i3 – 2,002 and 11,301 YTD
Volkswagen e-Golf – 1,447 and 9,796 YTD
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV – 2,174 and 9,662 YTD

Renault ZOE this time managed to beat Nissan LEAF and close the gap a little bit in the race for the best selling model.

As usual, the last month of the quarter brings some decent numbers from Tesla – 2,105 Model S and 1,829 Model X in June and 7,699 and 5,600, respectively for the year-to-date.

All-New 2018 Nissan Leaf Conquers The 3 Highest Peaks In A Day

August 10, 2018Electric Cars, Leaf, News, Reviews and Comment, NissanTrevor Larkum

A team from Nissan, together with the all-new 2018 Nissan Leaf, were involved in an extreme test of both electric and human endurance in support of an all-electric attempt at the National Three Peaks Challenge in the UK recently.

The National Three Peaks Challenge involves ascending and descending the three highest peaks of Scotland (Ben Nevis, 1,345 metres), England (Scafell Pike, 978 metres), and Wales (Snowdon, 1,085 metres), and driving between all three, in just 24 hours.

With the Leaf offering a larger capacity battery (40 kWh) and longer range (270 km combined), and the UK’s rapid charging infrastructure well developed along the route, two teams joined forces on a warm June day to take on the challenge.

Split into two units of Nissan Leaf, the teams started at 12 pm at Ben Nevis on one of Scotland’s hottest days of the year, with temperatures nearing 30-degrees Celsius. Descending the mountain mid-afternoon, the journey continued south to England, the Lake District and Scafell Pike, which was climbed in the very early hours of the morning with ambient temperatures still topping 20-degrees.

The morning of the second day brought the teams into Wales and towards their final destination of Snowdonia and the final peak – Snowdon.

Europe Electric Car Sales Up 37% In June

August 9, 2018Electric Cars, Leaf, Mitsubishi, Model S, News, Reviews and Comment, Nissan, Outlander PHEV, Renault, Tesla, ZOE, ZOE Z.E. 40Trevor Larkum

The European passenger plug-in market continues pushing forward. In June, the continent registered some 38,000 plug-in electric vehicles (PEV), up 37% relative to the same period last year and the continent’s second best performance ever.

That showing pulled the year-to-date (YTD) count to some 185,000 deliveries (+43% year over year, or YoY). In total, the 2018 PEV market share of the overall car market there is up to 2.2% (2.4% in June).

This time, fully electric cars (BEVs) grew slower (+20%) than PHEVs (+55%). Will we see all-electrics bounce back in the second half of the year?

Looking at Europe’s fuel mix, diesel continues to drop significantly (-16% YoY) in a growing market (+5.2%), while all other fuels (including CNG, LPG, …) are on the rise, profiting from the diesel-fleeing stampede. At this pace, the new registrations of diesel-powered vehicles will be virtually dead by 2025.

June saw the Renault Zoe beat the Nissan Leaf for the first time since February, with BEVs continuing to own the top positions. The Tesla Model S, meanwhile, profited from the usual last-month-of-quarter peak to join the top 5. It landed in the #4 position.

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV managed to score another top 5 presence as well, winning at the same time the bestselling PHEV award.

Among models that landed in 2018, the best selling one is the Land Rover Range Rover Sport PHEV, which registered 235 units in June, adding to the current 498 registrations made this year.

5 Reasons EVs Will Displace ICEs

July 8, 2018Electric Cars, Leaf, Model 3, News, Reviews and Comment, Nissan, Opinion, Sales, TeslaTrevor Larkum

My grandfather was quite intrigued with those horseless carriages. Here he is, with a big grin on his face, testing out a Model T back in 1913.

A few years earlier, Henry Ford had debuted his Detroit assembly line and began cranking out Model Ts – the world’s first mass-produced automobile. The rest is history.

Then, a hundred years later in 2010, Nissan (OTCPK:NSANY) became the first company to mass-produce EVs (cars powered only by electricity), the Nissan Leaf. Motortrend at the time noted that the Leaf “could be the most significant vehicle of the century.”

Did the 2010 Leaf and does today’s Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Model 3 indeed herald a transportation revolution into EVs, much as Henry Ford’s Model T did into “horseless carriages” a century earlier?

Well, EV sales have soared from practically nothing in 2010 to an estimated 1.6 million in 2018 and are up 68% over 2017.

The surge in EV sales (growing 50-100% each year now) is primarily due to better and more affordable batteries and today virtually every major automaker plans on introducing electric cars, if they haven’t already, both hybrids and EVs.

Long-Term 2018 Nissan Leaf: Electric Autonomy—Putting Nissan’s Pro Pilot Assist to the Test

July 1, 2018Electric Cars, Leaf, News, Reviews and Comment, NissanTrevor Larkum

The autonomous driving experience has been, up until recently, an expensive technology reserved for luxury cars. Among others, Nissan is working to bring partial autonomous driving to lower-priced machines. Nissan’s ProPilot Assist is part of a technology package that cost just $650 on our long-term Leaf. That’s a ridiculously good deal. The Leaf’s tech package also includes automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, intelligent lane intervention, an electronic parking brake and high beam assist. ProPilot Assist is also available on the Nissan Rogue as well as Infiniti’s new QX50 crossover.

Okay, so ProPilot is cheap and available (like me when I was single) but is it any good? To find out we decided to give the ProPilot a workout from Los Angeles to San Diego. Why San Diego? Aside from simply being a destination within reach the Leaf’s driving range, San Diego was the location Nissan chose to launch its new Kicks entry-level crossover, and we were on the schedule to test drive it. The event headquarters was a hotel in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter with a charging station in its parking garage, so I could plug the Leaf in overnight and have a full charge for my drive home. Perfect.

ProPilot aims to ease the monotony and frustration of a typical freeway commute, and no other freeway in the free world will redline your temper quicker than I-405 in Los Angeles. There’s always traffic. And the I-5 freeway, which links southern Orange County to San Diego is no slouch in that department either. The 130-mile drive from LA to San Diego can easily suck more than 3 hours from your life. So, if there ever was a time we’d like to let the car do some of the driving—this would be it.

Nissan LEAF Takes European Sales Crown From Renault ZOE

June 25, 2018Electric Cars, Leaf, News, Reviews and Comment, Nissan, Renault, ZOETrevor Larkum

It didn’t take long after the second-generation Nissan LEAF entered the European market in February for it to take the lead among all-electric cars in Europe.

It just knocked the Renault ZOE from its pedestal.

According to EagleAID, Nissan LEAF sales in Western Europe amounted to 11,441 in the first four months of 2018 (up 48% year-over-year) and that was enough for it to overtake the Renault ZOE.

5,790 delivered in March (Western Europe) and another 3,309 in April. The LEAF is of course the best-selling plug-in model in all of Europe as the Western part represents almost all sales.

A new Nissan Leaf sold every 10 minutes as total Leaf sales reach 100,000 across Europe

June 14, 2018Electric Cars, Leaf, News, Reviews and Comment, Nissan, SalesTrevor Larkum

Nissan is celebrating the 100,000th delivery of the LEAF car this month in Europe, in a move hailed as a victory for electric mobility. Globally, over 320,000 Nissan LEAF have been sold, making it the most sold EV in the world.

Susana de Mena, of Madrid, milestone buyer of the 100,000th LEAF said, “I’ve spent two years trying to find an electric car. I knew it would be a Nissan!

“When I saw there was a brand-new model of the LEAF, there were no doubts in my mind it would be the perfect fit. My husband and I agreed that the quality, price and specification made it second-to-none.

“We are very conscious that we must respect and protect the environment, so we knew we’d want to go 100% electric. On top of this, an electric car lets us get to the very centre of Madrid when ordinary vehicles can sometimes be restricted due to pollution issues.”

Combining sales of the new Nissan LEAF and previous LEAF models, the 100,000 customers across Europe have helped propel the Nissan LEAF to the position of best-selling EV in the world.

With now more than 37,000 new LEAF ordered in Europe, one new Nissan LEAF is sold every 10 minutes in Europe to customers looking to switch to innovative and zero-emission technology.