Nissan LEAF, an all-electric vehicle.
We launched the Nissan LEAF, our 100% electricity-powered vehicle*, in Japan and the United States in December 2010 and in Europe in March 2011. As a zero-emission vehicle with no tailpipe emissions including CO2 during operation, the Nissan LEAF has achieved outstanding environmental performance.
Its high-capacity lithium-ion battery, Nissan-developed inverter and electric motor provide powerful, smooth acceleration and a luxurious, quiet ride at all speeds. The Nissan LEAF offers superior handling stability realized by its excellent weight balance and features a maximum driving range of up to 200 kilometers on one full charge (as measured in JC08 test mode). It provides a driving experience unlike any other vehicle ever marketed. With this car and the advanced information technology systems that provide convenient, functional support for its operation, we are seeking to provide new value and a new style of mobility to our customers.
- * Electric vehicle (EV): A vehicle that uses a motor and battery as its power source
The Nissan LEAF and the steps we are taking to bring about a new zero-emission society have received high marks within Japan and around the world. In Japan, we won the 2010 Good Design Gold Award from the Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization for our "holistic approach to promote the adoption of Nissan LEAF electric vehicle and zero-emission mobility."
The What Car? Editor's Award
The Nissan LEAF earned high marks for its engine.
On the international stage, in its Green Awards 2010 the British auto enthusiast magazine What Car? presented a special Editor's Award to the Renault-Nissan Alliance for the companies' work on EVs. In the United States, the Nissan LEAF's electric propulsion system won recognition as one of the 2011 Ward's 10 Best Engines, becoming the first non-gasoline-powered, zero-emission winner in the award's 17-year history.
The Nissan LEAF was also named the European Car of the Year for 2011, another first for an electric car in the 47-year history of these awards. The world's first truly mass-produced, affordable, globally marketed EV beat out 40 internal combustion competitors to win this high honor.
Technology to Support EV Drivers
To make new lifestyles with EVs as a part of them more convenient and comfortable, Nissan is developing a range of functional support programs making full use of advanced IT systems.
The Nissan LEAF's onboard communication unit, for instance, allows users to connect to the vehicle with their mobile phone, smartphone, or personal computer. This gives them access to the vehicle's functions like climate control, allowing them to set a comfortable temperature before they get into the car.
This system also lets users check on the battery charge level or start the recharging process while away from the vehicle.
We designed an EV-exclusive version of our Carwings navigation system in Japan allowing drivers to search quickly for the nearest charging stations. Once a destination is set, the navigation system automatically calculates whether recharging will be necessary along the way and indicates where there are charging stations along the route. Newly installed stations are automatically added to the system's map data.
The Nissan LEAF's exclusive IT systems earned widespread praise for their innovation and high quality, winning the Best Mobile Innovation for Automotive and Transport prize in the 2011 Global Mobile Awards.
These prestigious awards are presented each year by the GSM Association, a global info-communications industry organization, to leading mobile services and products from around the world.
The Nissan New Mobility CONCEPT
The Nissan New Mobility CONCEPT
As part of our proposals for new forms of mobility for a sustainable zero-emission society, and as one example of what lives of the future with EVs as part of them might be like, in November 2010 we unveiled the Nissan New Mobility CONCEPT.
Society today is seeing rising numbers of senior citizens and single-member households, along with increasing use of automobiles for short-distance trips and to carry small numbers of passengers. We focused on these trends in coming up with this efficient, high-utility, sustainable means of mobility.
This small, easy-to-handle concept car represents a completely new form of mobility in a segment not covered by any existing cars. We expect it to prove handy in a range of driving situations, and we intend to provide various new services built around the New Mobility CONCEPT, including "seamless mobility service," a highly efficient and convenient linkage of public transportation and EVs via IT services, and "two-mode EV car sharing," in which the vehicle serves as a private commuter car in the morning and evening and as corporate transportation during the day. We are also considering ways for this vehicle to contribute to the revitalization of local communities, such as by increasing the accessibility of suburban areas and tourist destinations.
Partnerships Toward a Zero-Emission Society
As part of its efforts to promote zero-emission mobility, Nissan has forged partnerships with national and local governments, electricity providers and other counterparts all around the world. One facet of these partnership activities is the Future-Generation EV Kyoto Project, undertaken jointly with the Kyoto city government, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Horiba Ltd. since July 2010 to promote EV use, develop vehicleuse systems that match Kyoto's traffic conditions and help spread eco-driving practices. The project aims to prompt people to switch to EVs and to put more charging infrastructure in place; it also involves development of a system that gives drivers information on the location of charging stations and whether they are currently in use, thereby creating a total supportive environment for EV use. Other aims of the project are to reduce traffic within the city limits through park-and-ride and car-sharing initiatives and experimental testing of systems for efficient automobile use.
