Nissan Leaf sales to start in Sweden

Nissan LEAF has finally arrived in Stockholm. In the coming week, the award-winning vehicle is available for test drives for everyone in Medborgarplatsen in the centre of Stockholm. The Nissan LEAF tour is just a teaser of what is to come - start of sales is planned to be kicked off before the year end 2011.

The Nissan LEAF has recently been awarded with five stars in EuroNcap, making it one of the safest cars in Europe. Nissan LEAF as also been honored with the title Car of the year in both the global and European competition.

LEAF is a sleek four door hatchback, powered by a compact electric motor propelling the front wheel drive. The AC motor develops 80 kW of power and 280 Nm of torque, enough for a maximum speed of 145 km/h. The electric motor is powered by a Nissan-developed laminated lithium-ion battery with an output of more than 90 kW.

The car has a range between charges of 175 km as tested over the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) making it an attractive and practical alternative for many urban drivers. Recharging from empty to 100% can be done in eight hours with a normal charger and in about 30 minutes from empty to 80% using a quick charger in optimal conditions.

At 329 990 SEK (incl. VAT and the newly announced "supergreen" incentive), the European and World Car of the Year will cost about the same as a regular compact family hatchback, but with considerably lower running costs. The price includes the battery (which carries a five-year/100,000 km warranty), a five-year subscription to the unique telematic service, and EV specific roadside assistance. Running costs in Sweden are estimated at less than 16 SEK per 100 km. The price of Nissan LEAF without incentive is 369 900 SEK.

Nissan LEAF comes fully equipped with air conditioning, satellite navigation, rear-view parking camera, a quick charge socket and innovative smart-phone connectivity that will allow users to heat or cool the interior of the car remotely via a mobile phone allowing for better range management.

The car also comes equipped with the following items for the Nordic climate:

• heated front seats
• heated rear seats
• heated mirrors
• heated steering wheel
• battery heating system

"Nissan LEAF appeals on many levels; it's a zero-emission electric car with ultra-low running costs but it is also a practical, family-size car and fun to drive. That's a powerful combination, and Nissan LEAF is already attracting significant interest from prospective customers," says Guillaume Cartier, Managing Director, Nissan Nordic Europe. "We were pleased to hear that the Swedish government has announced to support zero emission mobility."
Interested customers should head to the Nissan website - http://www.nissan.dk/ - where they can find more details about the ground-breaking car and sign-in to become handraisers.

Deliveries of Nissan LEAF have already begun in the UK, the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland, Portugal and France. Order books have also opened in Switzerland, Spain and Belgium with customers in those markets expected to start receiving their cars shortly. Norway and Denmark have announced sales will start in autumn. The first deliveries in Sweden are expected to start at the first quarter of 2012.