Nissan LEAF wins Euro COTY The EV race seems to know no bounds at the moment, and anyone paying attention to the developments of electric vehicle technology would be enormously excited at the prospects that are emerging as we speak – simply keeping up is a challenge! But keeping up with, and perhaps superseding the competition, is a manufacturer who seemingly snuck in with not only a brilliant product, but a major international crown as well.
Value-for-money volume brand Nissan unveiled their not-by-mistake named “LEAF” concept car during 2008 to various markets, vowing to make it an all-electric, mass-market viable car available to the public in 2010. Fighting words indeed, but so was just about every other brand out there, with few actually laying their promises to the sword and actually putting them on sale at the time promised, a notion which personally I could never understand – if you fail to try, you may as well try to fail, I say. But “fail” is far from what the Leaf has done. In a historic moment for Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. and zero emission vehicles in general, the 100% electric Nissan LEAF was awarded 2011 European Car of the Year. Coveting the title of the world’s first mass-marketed, affordable, zero-emission vehicle for the global market, LEAF beat 40 contenders to win European motoring’s most important accolade. This is the first time in the 47-year history of the annual competition that the award has gone to an electric vehicle. Nissan LEAF’s rivals included vehicles from brands such as Alfa Romeo, Citroen, Dacia, Ford, Opel/Vauxhall and Volvo. The jury included 57 leading motoring journalists from 23 European countries. “The jury acknowledged today that the Nissan LEAF is a breakthrough for electric cars. Nissan LEAF is the first EV that can match conventional cars in many respects,” said Håkan Matson, President of the Jury, Car of the Year.
And he may be spot-on there. Powered by a compact front wheel driven electric motor delivering 80kW of power and 280 Nm of torque, LEAF reaches a respectable maximum speed of 145 km/h and delivers around 175km of range. An in-house Nissan laminated lithium-ion battery providing an output of more than 90 kW keeps things moving so respectably, making it a completely practical proposition for many urban drivers. Another excellent innovation is the ability to perform an 80% quick-charge (good for 140km of range) in around 30 minutes. The vehicle is fully equipped with features such as regenerating braking, air conditioning, satellite navigation, parking camera and advanced on-board IT and telematics systems. Innovative connectivity will allow an owner to set charging functions to monitor the car’s current state of charge and the remaining battery capacity, as well as to heat or cool the interior of the car remotely via mobile phone or computer. The Nissan LEAF will be available in five colors in Europe – blue metallic and pearl, white pearl, silver metallic, black solid and red pearl. The single option is a solar panel mounted in the rear spoiler that supports charging of the car’s 12V battery used for powering accessories. Deliveries in Japan and the United States begin this December. In Europe, deliveries start in early 2011 to Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, the UK and the Netherlands. The zero-emission car is currently being built in Japan, but will also be produced in North America and Europe when new manufacturing facilities open in late 2012 and early 2013, signaling a long term future plan for LEAF by the Nissan execs, which can only be a good thing. This is not a marketing gimmick or lease-only, selective product test (only the battery will be leased to customers). It’s what the market has been asking for so long – “give us an EV, we will buy it, we will take the risks, and even if it is an epic failure, the EV world will be better off for whatever lesson it learns from us.” As for South Africa, Nissan execs are quite cagey, saying that it may be considered only once certain measures and infrastructure is in place to support LEAF, such as recharging stations, and conclusive market analysis proves it a valid proposition to buyers, since the necessary infrastructure to ensure LEAF’s S.A. success would certainly involve a significant outlay. However, Nissan and many other manufacturers are working with governments worldwide (including South Africa) to develop buyer incentives and spread investment into creating an EV recharging infrastructure as soon as possible, so don’t discount it from our shores just yet. - Kevin Willemse