Nissan Leaf - Business

EV 11 prototype br The EV 11 prototype electric car was based on the Nissan Tiida Versa in US platform but uses an all electric drive train including an 80 160 kW 110 160 hp 280 160 Nm 210 160 lbft electric motor 24kWh lithium ion battery pack rated to have a range of 100 160 miles 160 160 km on the EPA LA 4 or city driving cycle navigation system and remote control amp monitoring using a cellphone connection through Nissan s secure data center to the car br The prototype was on display July 26 2009 A week later on August 2 2009 the production version was unveiled at Nissan s Yokohama headquarters and is set to begin selling in both the North American market and Japan in 2010 br Specifications br Leaf s charging oulet is located in the front of the car br The Leaf uses a front mounted electric motor driving the wheels powered by a 24kWh 90 160 kW lithium ion battery pack The expected cruising range is the same as the EV 11 prototype as is the motor The battery pack is made of air cooled stacked modules br Performance br Nissan claims that the car has a top speed of over 140 160 km h 87 160 mph br The battery can be charged with 440 Volt 220 Volt and 110 Volt sources With 440 Volts it can be charged to 80 capacity in about 30 minutes with a special quick charger that sends 440 480 volt direct current to the battery With 220 Volt it can be charged in 4 hours and in North America and Japan using standard household 110 Volt outlets it can be charged in 16 hours br Connected Mobility br Nissan Leaf will employ an advanced IT system Connected to a global data center the system provides support information and entertainment for drivers 24 hours a day The dash mounted monitor displays the Leaf s remaining power in addition to showing a selection of nearby charging stations br User mobile phones can be used to turn on air conditioning the heater and re set charging functions even when the vehicle is powered down An on board remote controlled timer can also be pre programmed to recharge batteries br Price and sales br Rear view of the Nissan Leaf exhibited at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show br Although an exact price has not been announced the car is expected to cost US 25 00033 000 The Leaf s pricing will be announced in April 2010 and Nissan will sell or lease the Leaf only with batteries included forgoing the initial idea of leasing batteries to reduce the price of the car br In mid February 2010 Nissan announced that around 50 000 people have already registered in the U S to have first priority The reservation process will begin in April and after paying a fully refundable US 100 reservation fee customers will be among the first in line able to order a Nissan Leaf Orders are expected to begin in August and deliveries will start in select markets as early as December 2010 br Partnerships br Renault Nissan has partnered with governments public utilities and private entities to produce the global infrastructure necessary to ma ke the LEAF a viable concept The Leaf however will not contain Renault Nissan s QuickDrop battery switch feature Countries already signed up to this electric vehicle network include Portugal the UK New Zealand Australia Israel Ireland France China Singapore Switzerland Canada British Columbia and Monaco br Production br Nissan Leaf s battery recharging station unit br The U S Department of Energy has granted 99 8 million to Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation eTec for the EV Project involving the installation of up to 11 210 charging stations in strategic markets Phoenix AZ Tucson AZ San Diego CA Portland OR Eugene OR Corvallis OR Seattle WA Nashville TN Knoxville TN and Chattanooga TN Nissan has partnered with eTec on this project and will supply 4 700 vehicles to individual and fleet customers in these areas beginning in the fall of 2010 br The EV Project will collect and analyze data to characterize vehicle use in diverse topographic and climatic conditions ev aluate the effectiveness of charge infrastructure and conduct trials of various revenue systems for commercial and public charge infrastructure The ultimate goal of The EV Project is to take the lessons learned from the deployment of these first 4 700 EVs and the charging infrastructure supporting them to assist in the streamlined deployment of the full production number of Leafs and other EVs br The first vehicles to be sold in the U S will be produced at Nissan plant in Oppama Japan Commercial US production would begin in late 2012 at Nissan s manufacturing facility in Smyrna Tennessee This U S plant will be modified with a 1 4 billion loan granted by the U S Department of Energy to allow the manufacturing plant to produce the Nissan Leaf and its advanced batteries The retooled plant is expected to create 1 300 jobs The Smyrna plant is expected to produce up to 150 000 vehicles and 200 000 battery packs annually br Marketing br Following General Motors announcement that th ey anticipate the Chevy Volt s city fuel economy will reach 230 mpg plus 25kWh 100mi 85mpgge combined Nissan announced on August 11 2009 via its NissanEVs Twitter account that they anticipate the Nissan Leaf can reach 367 mpg plug to wheel using the Department of Energy s formula 22 5 kWh 100mi 150mpgge br Zero Emission Tour br Nissan Leaf at the 2010 Washington Auto Show where it was announced as winner of the 2010 Green Car Vision Award by the Green Car Journal br On October 22 2009 Nissan announced The Zero Emission Tour with stops in 22 North American cities At each stop on the tour visitors were able to view the car and learn about the benefits of zero emission driving The first stop of the tour was in Los Angeles on November 13 2009 marking the unveiling of the LEAF in North America Other stops on the tour included Berkeley San Francisco Seattle Vancouver Las Vegas Houston Washington D C and Orlando br The tour ended in February 2010 in New York City after visiting 24 cities including two Atlanta and Boston that were added to the original itinerary due to requests Nissan estimates that 100 000 people saw the company lithium ion battery car br Criticism br Since the initial series of announcements a number of commenters criticized Nissan for what was seen as misleading emphasis on the 100 mile range that was computed using LA 4 or city mode Skeptics point out that electric cars unlike gasoline powered vehicles tend to achieve optimal efficiency at low speeds and furthermore Leaf s bulky shape and its relatively large size 20 taller than the GM EV1 and almost 40 taller than Tesla Roadster imply poor aerodynamics making it perform poorly on freeways citation needed As of February 2010 Nissan has not yet released the expected highway range of the Leaf Its coefficient of drag a parameter that s crucial to its highway efficiency has not been stated explicitly either its designer went on record saying it is very good without making it the typica l one motion aeroform but stopped short of proclaiming it to have the lowest coefficient of drag among mass produced cars this title is currently claimed by Mercedes Benz E class at 0 24 br Awards and recognition br Time magazine called the Nissan Leaf one of the 50 best inventions of 2009 br 2010 Green Car Vision Award by the Green Car Journal at the Washington Auto Show The GCJ editors considered that This coming electric model will provide the features the styling and the driving experience that will meet the needs of a sophisticated and demanding market while producing zero localized emissions and requiring no petroleum fuels br EV Competitors br Aixam neighborhood electric vehicle br Bollor Blue Car br Buddy br Citroen Berlingo Electrique br Dynasty IT br G Wiz REVA br Italcar br Mitsubishi i MiEV br Mini E br Nissan Leaf br MyCar evstores br Piaggio Porter br Pininfarina B0 br Renault Z E br Smart ED production car br Subaru Stella 2009 br Tazzari Zero 2009 br The Kurr ent neighborhood electric vehicle br Th nk City production car br ZENN br See also br Better Place br Chevrolet Volt br Low carbon fuel standard br Plug in hybrid electric vehicle br References br Yoshio Takahashi 2009 08 03 Nissan Unveils New Electric Car Wall Street Journal http online wsj com article SB124919217149699407 html Retrieved 2009 08 03 160 br Nissan shows off new Versa based electric vehicle prototype br 2010 Nissan Leaf electric car In person in depth and U S bound br Nissan Unveils LEAF The World S First Electric Car Designed for Affordability and Real World Requirements br Nissan LEAF Specs Nissan http www nissan zeroemission com EN LEAF specs html Retrieved 2009 08 03 160 br a b Christopher Sawyer February 2009 Nissan s EV and Battery Plans Automotive Design and Production http www autofieldguide com articles 020903 html Retrieved 2009 10 10 160 br Nissan Leaf Press Release Aug 02 2009 br G M Puts Electric Car City Mileage in Triple Digits New York Times 20 09 08 11 http www nytimes com 2009 08 12 business 12auto html Retrieved 2009 10 18 160 br a b c d Jim Motavalli 2010 02 12 Nissan Leaf Electric Car Comes to New York New York Times http wheels blogs nytimes com 2010 02 12 nissan leaf electric car comes to new york scp 1 amp sq Nissan 20Leaf amp st cse Retrieved 2010 02 13 160 br a b c d e Nissan Leaf Tour Ends In NYC With Success Electricnick com 2010 02 12 http electricnick com 2010 02 12 nissan leaf tour ends nyc Retrieved 2010 02 13 160 br Jim Motavalli 2009 08 03 Nissan Unveils Leaf an Electric Car New York Times http wheels blogs nytimes com 2009 08 03 nissan unveils leaf electric car Retrieved 2009 10 05 160 br Matt Saunders 2009 09 15 Nissan Leaf EV launched http www autocar co uk News NewsArticle AllCars 242048 Retrieved 2009 10 06 160 br a b Secretary Chu Announces Closing of 1 4 Billion Loan to Nissan U S Department of Energy 2010 01 28 http www energy gov 8581 htm Retrieved 2010 02 13 160 br Alex Nunez 2009 08 11 Nissan pokes fun at Volt claims 367 mpg equivalent for Leaf EV AutoBlog com http www autoblog com 2009 08 11 nissan pokes fun at the volt claims 367 mpg equivalent for leaf Retrieved 2009 10 05 160 br To clarify our previous tweet the DOE formula estimates 367mpg for Nissan LEAF Nissan via Twitter 2009 08 11 http twitter com NissanEVs status 3248710288 Retrieved 2009 10 05 160 br U S Department of Energy DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy 2000 07 12 PDF 10 CFR Part 474 Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Research Development and Demonstration Program Petroleum Equivalent Fuel Economy Calculation Final Rule U S GPO Federal Register Vol 64 No 113 http frwebgate access gpo gov cgi bin getdoc cgi dbname 2000_register amp docid 00 14446 filed pdf Retrieved 2006 09 22 160 br Proposed Rulemaking to Establish Light Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards and Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 2009 09 15 http www n htsa gov portal nhtsa_static_file_downloader jsp file staticfiles DOT NHTSA Rulemaking Rules Associated 20Files MY2012 2016_CAFE_GHGN_PRM pdf Retrieved 2009 10 05 160 br a b Nissan announces dates for the Nissan LEAF Zero Emission Tour br Nissan is turning over a new zero emission Leaf Los Angeles Times 2009 11 14 http www latimes com business la fi nissan leaf14 2009nov14 0 6555931 story Retrieved 2009 11 20 160 br In Race to Market Nissan Electric Car Takes Shortcuts http www wired com autopia 2010 01 nissan leaf 2 Retrieved 2010 02 16 160 br EV Range High Anxiety Normal Driving May Cut Range In Half http www thetruthaboutcars com ev range high anxiety normal driving may cut range in half Retrieved 2010 02 16 160 br Tesla Motors Roadster Efficiency and Range http www teslamotors com blog4 p 70 Retrieved 2010 02 23 160 br Zero Emissions All Green Introducing the Nissan Leaf EV http blogs motortrend com 6537775 green zero emissions all green introducing the nissan leaf ev in dex html Retrieved 2010 02 23 160 br The 50 Best Inventions of 2009 Time Magazine http www time com time specials packages article 0 28804 1934027_1934003_1933970 00 html Retrieved 13 November 2009 160 br Green Car Journal Editors 2010 01 26 Nissan Leaf Electric Car Wins 2010 Green Car Vision Award Green Car Journal http www greencar com articles nissan leaf electric car wins 2010 green car vision award php Retrieved 2010 01 27 160 br External links br Nissan Zero Emissions Website br Nissan Leaf Press Release Aug 02 2009 br Official Nissan LEAF Web Site br Autobloggreen In Person Indepth Report br AutoWeek Nissan Leaf electric vehicle headed for U S market in 2010 br Nissan Leaf EV The Future of Electric Cars on its Shoulders br Nissan Leaf and Charging Station Information br v 160 160 d 160 160 e br Nissan Motor Company br Vehicles br Production br DC 3 160 100NX 160 1200 160 210 160 310 160 180SX 160 200SX 160 B10 160 B110 160 B 210 160 240SX 160 240Z 160 280ZX 160 300C 1 60 300ZX 160 350Z 160 370Z 160 510 160 810 160 Advan 160 Almera 160 Almera Tino 160 Altima 160 Altra EV 160 Aprio 160 Armada 160 Atlas 160 Avenir 160 Auster 160 Bassara 160 Be 1 160 Bluebird 160 Cabstar 160 Caravan 160 Cedric 160 Cefiro 160 Cherry 160 Cima 160 Civilian 160 Clipper 160 Crew 160 Cube 160 Datsun Truck 160 Dualis 160 Echo 160 Elgrand 160 Expert 160 Fairlady 160 Figaro 160 Frontier 160 Freeson 160 Fuga 160 Gazelle 160 Gloria 160 GT R 160 Hardbody Truck 160 Hypermini 160 Homy 160 Laurel 160 Leopard 160 Lafesta 160 Liberty 160 Livina Geniss 160 Maxima 160 March 160 Mistral 160 Multi

iAutoblog the premier autoblogger software