Nissan reveals high demand for Leaf EV

Nissan reveals high demand for Leaf EV

Predictions that sales of electric cars are set to soar seem to be borne out by new figures from Nissan, which has launched its third generation of the Leaf on to the market.

The British-built electric car has received 550 orders since October. It boasts a bigger battery than the second generation model and can travel for a further 155 miles, or a 25 per cent longer range, between charges.

The growing popularity of electric and hybrid vehicles present new opportunities for dealers. There will soon be more available on the used car market, and there will also be greater demand for servicing and repairs from suitably qualified mechanics. If you are aiming to take advantage of the trend, make sure you have the right levels of motor trade insurance and road risks insurance to cover your business.

Nissan is confident changes to the new generation Leaf will further increase the model’s popularity. In addition to the 30kW battery, it also has the NissanConnect infotainment system as standard.

Nissan’s EV manager, Robert Tweedie, told Car Dealer magazine: “With the Leaf, we’re trying to provide an EV that’s accessible to the mass market. So with the extension of the range, the car can easily meet the daily requirements of any driver, because what we’re finding is that the average customer is doing only 25 miles a day.”

The new model is attracting more orders than its predecessor but Nissan is continuing to produce the second generation Leaf. It has no plans to stop making the model with the smaller battery and believes there is a need for both vehicles.

Mr Tweedie said: “We always anticipated that the sales mix would be somewhere in the region of 80 per cent 30kW guise, and 20 per cent 24kW, and the order take that we’ve seen up to this point in time has pretty much been in line with that.”