Nissan’s electric car advert misled drivers

BRITAIN’S most popular electric car charges up to four times slower than previously advertised, it has emerged.

Nissan has been reprimanded by the advertising watchdog for misleading customers about Nissan Leaf charge times.

On its UK website, an advert said that on quick charge, “[the car can charge] up to 80per cent in 40 to 60 minutes”. The advert had a link to a footnote stating that the time was dependent on charging conditions, including the charger type and condition, battery temperature and size, as well as ambient temperature.

Three complainants said the time claim in the advert was misleading.

Nissan said the advert did not specifically state that the battery would be charged to 80 per cent in 60 minutes, and it was clearly qualified with a visible footnote.

However, the carmaker said that, following feedback from consumers, it had updated the website with the wording: “Plug your New Leaf into a CHADEMO rapid charger and get from 20per cent to 80per cent charge in around 60 minutes.”

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said consumers would understand that they could usually increase the car’s battery charge by 80 per cent, or close to 80per cent, within 40 to 60 minutes.

It welcomed Nissan updating its website, but said: “Because the ad did not clearly convey the degree of variability in the time that may be required to deliver a certain amount of charge, we concluded that the claims had not been substantiated and were likely to mislead.”  Television adverts for a fashion retailer featuring a size eight model have been banned after the ASA ruled she appeared “unhealthily underweight”. The ASA received 22 complaints over three adverts for Nasty Gal, a womenswear firm, which responded that the model’s body mass index was within the “healthy range”.