New Nissan LEAF is emerging as the global leader for electric vehicles

WitH 10,000 European customers ordering the New Nissan LEAF in the space of two months, the marque is emerging as the global leader for electric vehicles.

Nissan says it is well placed to judge the customer reaction towards the forthcoming launch of its pioneering, allnew LEAF EV.

Back in 2010, when the first-generation LEAF was introduced in Europe, most competitors were sceptical towards this Nissan innovation and continued their focus mainly on internal combustion engine improvement.

Fast forward eight years, and consumers’ understanding and appetite for electric vehicles has been transformed, with demand experiencing a five-fold increase since 2012. Now the vast majority of car brands are developing their own first-generation EVs.

At the same time Nissan has built upon the experiences and feedback of 83,000 LEAF drivers to develop a brand new vehicle. That car – the all-new Nissan LEAF – has received unprecedented interest from customers since its European unveiling in October 2017.

In two months, 10,000 were ordered across the countries and growth is expected to increase as the vehicle starts to hit the showrooms from February 2018.

At the same point back in 2010, orders for the original LEAF could be counted in the hundreds as customers were presented with this new and exciting – but still unproven – technology.

Since its global unveil in Japan in September, consumer interest and momentum for new LEAF has built steadily across Europe. In early October initial vehicle specifications and presale pricing were released at Nissan’s Futures 3.0 event in Oslo, Norway. Since then, customers have been able to place orders for new LEAF through their local Nissan retailer.

To date, customer interest in the new LEAF has been stimulated through positive media coverage. The car has been praised for the host of new innovations and technologies it brings, including Nissan ProPILOT driver assistance technology, and Nissan e-Pedal, where driver reducing the usage of the brake pedal by 90 per cent as he, or she, activates the one-pedal drive mode.

Impressively, the 10,000 customer orders have been taken without new LEAF being physically available in Nissan retailers for test drives, and without direct consumer advertising and promotion.

All European markets are currently announcing their full model line-up and pricing for new LEAF as formal start of sales approaches.

First deliveries will start in early February 2018.