Nissan Leaf

Auto Express gives LEAF Best EV in used car awards

London, UK (October 25, 2017) – The current generation Nissan LEAF Acenta has been named ‘Best EV’ in the 2017 Auto Express Used Car Awards.

This is the second year in a row that the Nissan LEAF has been recognised in the awards, having won ‘Best Used Green Car’ in 2016.

The Auto Express judging panel commented; “Electric cars are the next big thing in the car industry. In a few years there will be more choice in showrooms, but for now, there are some great deals to be had on the first mainstream EV success story, the Nissan LEAF.”

“An average commute will be more than covered by the 24kWh LEAF’s 124-mile range, but later models are available with a larger 30kWh battery that increases this to 155 miles. With the cost to charge the Nissan standing at only a few pounds, it’s bound to save you money, and a used model gives access to this technology at an affordable price.”

Thanks to Nissan’s current Switch Scheme,  LEAF ownership has never been more accessible. Payments for a used LEAF 24kWh on a three-year 3.9% APR PCP can be lower than £100 a month with trade-in value and Nissan Switch Scheme contribution. Go grab one you won’t be disapointed.

Sample Offer:

The Nissan LEAF was also one of the best-performing models in the 2017 Driver Power survey earlier this year. The LEAF was awarded Best Green Car overall and also came top in the Best Engine and Gearbox and Best MPG and Running Costs awards categories. Overall the car was ranked the 33^rd best car to live with.

Driver Power is the UK’s biggest and most in-depth car satisfaction survey, with seven surveys covering the different phases of vehicle ownership. There are also nine Judging Category awards split into satisfaction categories.

On October 2^nd, Nissan unveiled the all-new Nissan LEAF in Europe, the next generation of the best-selling zero-emissions electric vehicle. Embodying Nissan’s Intelligent Mobility vision, the new model has been reinvented to offer greater range (up to 235miles (NEDC) on a single charge), dynamic design, advanced driver assistance technologies and enhanced connectivity.

A unique version is on sale now in the UK – the new Nissan LEAF 2.ZERO limited edition. This version is the first model in Europe to be fully equipped with Nissan’s ProPILOT technology. Priced at £26,490 including Government Grant, cars will be delivered from the beginning of 2018.

We look forwar to a full drive in the new LEAF in 2018.

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Nissan and Renault to use common EV platform

The Renault-Nissan Alliance leads all other car manufactures in global sales of electric cars

The Nissan Leaf remains the best-selling electric car in history, while the Renault Zoe is the best-selling EV in Europe.

Not many people know that Nissan and Renault are joined at the hip with a global alliance and interwoven stock ownership. The alliance also recently acquired a significant stake in Mitsubishi, the producer of the best selling Plug In vehicle in Europe. So it is no great surprise that Renault and Nissan will build the next Zoe and Leaf electric cars on a new common platform.

The cars will have different exterior styling but will share underpinnings and electric motors, said Arnaud Deboeuf, senior vice president of Renault-Nissan BV, the alliance’s strategic management unit.

Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault and Nissan, has been pushing the alliance partners to intensify cooperation to achieve economies of scale.

Deboeuf said the new generations of the Leaf and the Zoe will compete in the same segment but declined to say if the Zoe will grow in size to become a compact model or if the Leaf will be shrunk to become a subcompact.

He also declined to give a timescale for the launch of the new Leaf and Zoe, but said it will happen after a Leaf facelift planned in 2018.

French media reports said the Zoe will be the first Renault-Nissan alliance model to use the new EV architecture, but not before 2020.

Renault and Nissan might continue to use different battery cells but no decision has been taken, Deboeuf told reporters at a media event in Paris. The Leaf uses in-house, comparatively low-density LMO lithium chemistry. Renault buys cells from LG Chem. Nissan has not decided whether to continue to produce its own cells or buy them.

Renault has just introduced an upgraded Zoe with a range on a single charge of 400 km (250 miles) under the European NEDC testing procedure, up from 240 km. The Zoe has new lithium-ion pouch cells from LG that have nearly doubled the Zoe’s energy rating to 41 kilowatt hours from 22 kWh. The Leaf has a 30 kWh power rating and a range of up to 250 km.

Nissan began sales of the Leaf, the world’s first mass-market EV, in the U.S. and Japan in 2010 and in Europe in 2011. Renault launched the Zoe in 2012.

Deboeuf rebuffed criticism that Renault and Nissan still share too little in terms of platforms and powertrains despite 18 years of partnership.

He said that the decision to develop a new model is taken about 10 years before its market launch so product cycles between the two automakers need a long time to be completely aligned.

The alliance now shares platforms and powertrains across key product lines, Deboeuf said. These include: Compact crossovers with the Nissan Qashqai and Renault Kadjar; midsize crossovers with the Nissan X-Trail and Renault Koleos; Subcompact crossovers with the Nissan Juke and Renault Captur; Subcompact cars with the new Nissan Micra and Renault Clio.

Deboeuf said Renault and Nissan will not share automatic transmissions but this differentiation is because of customer preferences rather than technical considerations.

We look forward to testing the new Zoe.

Nissan pushes Black Leaf to market

As car models approach their end of life it is very common for the manufactures to roll out special limited edition models to keep the punters excited.

In just the vein Nissan has unveiled the special version LEAF Black Edition. The LEAF is the best selling EV by far. So why are Nissan pushing this? The Black gets the longer range 30KW pack, so it’s a good a LEAF as you can purchase. 

The limited edition model is on sale in Europe for a restricted production run from March 2017 up until August 2017, with the first 1,000 customers in Europe receiving a free Wi-Fi hotspot – capable of powering up to eight devices. This implies that there is no pending model change. 

Based on Nissan’s existing Acenta grade, the Nissan LEAF Black Edition offers cutting-edge design and a number of dynamic styling enhancements. Stylish exterior additions include 16” black alloy wheels, LED headlamps, illuminated entry guards, privacy glass, black door mirror caps and black rear roof spoiler. Blue-stitched mats give the interior a premium finish.

The Black LEAF also comes with the latest evolution of the advanced NissanConnect EV telematics system and its innovative Around View Monitor technology as standard. Gloss Black allow wheels adorn the new Black Edition.

Gareth Dunsmore, Director of Electric Vehicles at Nissan Europe, said: 

“The Nissan LEAF Black Edition offers our customers stylish, premium design in an affordable mass-market 100 percent electric vehicle. We are committed to delivering innovation that excites and this vehicle does just that, with our leading Around View Monitor technology offering customers a more confident drive – embodying Nissan Intelligent Mobility.”

The limited edition model is on sale in Europe for a restricted production run from March 2017 up until August 2017, with the first 1,000 customers in Europe receiving a free Wi-Fi hotspot – capable of powering up to eight devices.

Launched in 2010, the Nissan LEAF was the first mass-market electric vehicle. The latest 30kWh version gives drivers up to 155 miles of range using the NEDC calculations, opening up a new world of opportunity for drivers. Nissan is dedicated to delivering a smarter, more sustainable future, with customers having driven more than 2.5 billion electric miles.

Since the Nissan LEAF first went on sale in 2010, almost 240,000 units have been sold globally, with 64,000 of these on Europe’s roads; making it the world’s best-selling electric vehicle.

How to charge a Nissan Leaf

Charging an EV like the Nissan Leaf is easy.

See this short video of plugging a Leaf into a Public Type 2 Charging Post at Sainsbury’s.

The Nissan Leaf uses a TYpe 1 on board connection. The Pod Point charging system offers a standard Type 2 connection. The cable required is thus a Type 1 – TYpe 2 Charging Cable. This leaf has a standard 16 Amp charger and. This will function with both a 16 Amp or a 32 Amp cable but will only draw 16 Amp from ther supply. In this case we are using a 16 Amp Type 1 – Type 2 cable. EV-CHC007.

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Renault Nissan to showcase EVs at UN’s COP22 in Marrakech

The Renault-Nissan Alliance will provide a fleet of 50 all-electric vehicles as the official passenger-car provider for the United Nation’s COP22 Climate Conference in Marrakech, Morocco. The fully electric fleet will shuttle delegates.

More than 25,000 participants from 195 countries are expected to attend the annual climate summit during Nov. 7-18. It marks the second time the UN will use a zero-emission shuttle fleet in support of public transport at one of its major conferences.

The COP22 fleet will feature the Renault ZOE, the Nissan LEAF compact car and the seven-seat Nissan e-NV200 van. The vehicles will be available to shuttle delegates 24 hours, seven days a week to key venues at the conference, as a complement to public transportation.

The Alliance will also provide a network of more than 20 accelerated and standard charging stations at strategic locations. The accelerated charging stations will be able to charge the EVs from 0 to 80 percent in about one hour.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance is the global leader in zero-emission vehicles. With six models, it has already sold more than 360,000 electric vehicles worldwide. Nissan LEAF, launched in 2010, remains the industry’s best-selling EV. Renault ZOE is the best-performing EV in Europe. The Alliance has sold about half of the electric vehicles on the road globally today including the Renault Twizy two-seat, urban commuter vehicle, and the Nissan e-NV200 van, which has been on sale in Europe and Japan since 2014.

In addition, the Renault-Nissan’s Tangier, Morocco, plant is designed to move towards “zero CO2” emissions through the use of renewable resources, for thermal energy produced on site, as well as its purchased electricity. The plant began operations in 2012, and its approach remains unique in the automobile industry.

In Morocco, Renault Group is the only major automaker to market a fully electric range of vehicles. Thanks to COP22 and the desire of the Kingdom to develop low-carbon energy, several companies have decided to bet on the 100 percent electric car by buying fleets.

“The Renault-Nissan Alliance is proud to contribute to COP22 by providing a fleet of 50 100 percent electric vehicles,” said Marc Nassif, managing director of Renault Morocco Group and Alliance COP22 leader. “This technology, coupled with an increasingly decarbonized electric mix, is the solution for individual mobility to address the issue of global warming and enhance air quality in our cities.”

Isao Sekiguchi, managing director of the North Africa Region and Egypt for Nissan Group, agreed.

”Climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing the world today,” Sekiguchi said “The Renault-Nissan Alliance was not only quick to recognize the import contribution the automotive industry could make to the collective effort to tackle emissions, but was also quick to act.”

The Alliance was also an official partner of COP21. The fleet of 200 electric vehicles from the Alliance represented the world’s largest EV fleet ever provided for an international conference. This fleet shuttled more than 8,000 delegates, media and negotiators during the two-week United Nations annual climate change conference in Paris last year. In doing so, it traveled at least 175,000 kilometers without emitting any CO2 tailpipe emissions and without using any petroleum, which saved nearly 182 barrels of oil and avoided 18 tons of CO2 being emitted.

The Alliance will also participate in Solutions COP22, an international exhibition on climate-change solutions, to be held in the Green Zone in Marrakech. The exhibition, which will take place Nov. 7- 18, will feature CO2 solutions from cities, businesses and other organizations around the world. In addition, the Alliance will have electric vehicles available for public test drives.

Nissan boosts UK Battery Plant

Nissan UK has just announced plans to invest £26.5m in its production of electric vehicle batteries in Sunderland. These will be used in the next generation Leaf.

The announcement may end rumors that Nissan would outsource production of lithium-ion cells and perhaps even battery packs for the next Leaf to giant Korean maker LG Chem.

Nissan Europe’s press release, however, did not offer specifics of the cell chemistry–and it did not mention current cell supplier AESC, Nissan’s lithium-ion cell joint venture with Japanese computer giant NEC.

Sunderland imports the new 30-kWh pack offered on high-end 2016 Leaf models, however, from Nissan’s battery plant in Smyrna, Tennessee. It also produces battery packs for the Nissan e-NV200 all-electric small commercial van, which is assembled in a plant in Barcelona, Spain, for sale in Europe.

In 2011, Nissan UK benefited from £189m of European funding to build the Leaf and the lithium-ion batteries. Since 2013, production of the Leaf has supported more than 2,000 jobs at Nissan and in its UK supply chain.

The announcement comes at the beginning of a landmark year in which Nissan will celebrate the 30th anniversary year of its Sunderland factory – now the largest plant in the history of the UK car industry.

Already the global leaders in electric vehicles, and with a new 155-mile range Nissan LEAF on sale across Europe this month, this long-term commitment signals Nissan’s bold vision for the future of zero-emission motoring.

Paul Willcox, Chairman, Nissan Europe, said: “With 200,000 customers around the world already, the Nissan LEAF has transformed the performance and perception of EVs and made Nissan the undisputed leader in EV technology.  Today’s announcement reflects Nissan’s intention to remain EV leaders for many years to come, with our UK operations at the heart of our future innovations.”

The money will be used on projects to develop and improve the batteries.

The Nissan Leaf was the first electric car to be mass-produced in the UK – about 60,000 batteries are produced at the plant each year.

The second-generation of Nissan Leaf electric car is now expected to be unveiled sometime late this year or early in 2017, and go into production as a 2018 model.

It will compete in the U.S. against the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, which GM CEO Mary Barra has promised will have 200 miles or more of range for a starting price of $37,500 before incentives as well as the Tesla Model 3 expected to be announced in March this year.

Renault Zoe Leads 2015 European Sales Of All-Electric Cars

European sales of electric vehicles grew last year by 50% to nearly 100,000 units.  One of the key benefactress of this sales growth was Renault, whose Zoe was the best selling electric car in Europe during 2015.

As well as the Zoe, Renault offers the Kangoo ZE small delivery van, and the crazy but interesting Twizy tandem two-seater low-speed electric vehicle.

With this lineup of electric cars already know secured nearly one-quarter of all electric car sales in Europe: Its 23,086 sales of Zoe and Kangoo ZE electric vehicles represented 23.6 percent of sales.

The bulk of those sales were the Zoe, at 18,453 registrations or 19.2 percent of the market. Most of the remainder were the light-commercial Kangoo ZE electric van, at 4,325 sold. That makes each car the leader in its segment.

The Zoe racked up more sales than the larger Nissan Leaf, which is assembled in the U.K., and the Kangoo ZE dominated the all-electric light commercial vehicle segment, at 42.6 percent of sales.

Unsurprisingly he largest market for the Renault Zoe is its home country of France–10,670 sales, or 48 percent of battery-electric sales–due to a national “Superbonus” incentive introduced last year to encourage sales of zero-emission vehicles.

More than half the Zoes sold during 2015, Renault says, benefited from that incentive.

From their launch in 2011 through December 2015, Renault says, it has sold 62,228 electric cars plus another 16,331 Twizy low-speed vehicles.

Renault and sister company Nissan announced in June 2015 that the two companies combined had sold more than a quarter of a million battery-electric vehicles. That followed a November 2014 combined total of 200,000.

But while the Zoe does well in France and parts of Europe, its global sales are about one-quarter the number of the Nissan Leaf’s sold throughout the world with strong showings in Japan and United States

Nisan expect the 200,000th Leaf to be sold sometime this month.

Nissan dust off Vehicle to Grid plans

Nissan announced a partnership with Enel, Europe’s second largest power company for installed capacity, to develop a new “Vehicle-to-Grid” initiative to use, store and return to the grid electricity in excess from Nissan’s electric vehicles.

The initiative appears to be a revival of Nissan’s “LEAF to Home” program, which appears to have been abandoned years ago. Although the new program seems to be more focused on providing a service to the grid rather than backup power, which was the focus of “LEAF to Home”.

Nissan and Enel confirmed that trials are already underway to test the viability of ‘Grid Integrated Vehicles’. Nissan Europe Chairman Paul Willcox commented on the announcement:

“Nissan is the world leader in electric vehicles. We’ve being doing it longer than anyone else, we’ve sold more than anyone else and we’ve got plans for the future that are more credible than anyone else. Our pioneering partnership with ENEL is a perfect example of those plans, taking the car beyond a pure road vehicle, and using it to charge your home or office. It ultimately means that electric vehicles can now become a fully integrated part of our national electricity systems right across Europe. A sustainable transportation future demands better connections between vehicles, utilities, renewable energy sources and buildings. This is why today’s announcement is so important – it’s the first step towards a truly integrated automotive energy eco-system.As the energy and automotive sectors converge, and as we look toward to an ever electric future, the opportunities for enhanced energy management have never been stronger. Vehicle-to-Grid technology represents a step closer to this vision and underscores Nissan’s commitment to the entire EV ecosystem – it goes way beyond driving.”

The agreement with the ENEL Group will bring the first Grid Integrated Vehicles to countries where regulation allows sufficient value generation. Denmark will host the first set of trials with Germany, Netherlands and other northern European regions following suit. This endeavour is part of Enel’s and Nissan’s commitment to support the entire electric vehicle ecosystem, going way beyond the car itself and delivering new services to the power industry.

In a press release, the two companies gave an interesting example of the potential of a fully integrated grid with electric vehicles:

“In France for example, where there are 38 million vehicles and where the current electricity generation capacity is 130 GW, a future where all vehicles on the road are EVs/PHEV, the grid integration of the vehicles could generate a virtual power plant of up to 380 GW (3 times the national generation capacity of France).”

To help explain this concept see the chart below: First add a large battery to your house. Connect to a Smart Grid that has the ability to add and take power from your new battery and LEAF. Charge the house pack and car when the sun shines and when demand increases, take power from the combined house and car pack.

Tesla is also believed to be working on a similar vehicle-to-grid system based on comments made by Tesla CTO JB Straubel and its tie up with SolarCity and Powerwall.