Nissan West Europe brings electric mobility to France with delivery of the country's first 100% electric Nissan LEAF. Mr. and Mrs. Gerbaud took delivery of their white Nissan LEAF at NISSAN COURIANT in Aix-en-Provence. This groundbreaking moment represents France's first delivery of the 2011 European and World Car of the Year. This early delivery is also a demonstration of the company's effort to recover from the natural disaster of March 11th in Japan and the readiness of Nissan's EV dealer network in France.
Carine Gerbaud will mainly use her Nissan LEAF for daily commuting to her workplace. As she drives 80km per day on average, the Nissan LEAF's homologated range of 175km with a full charge is sufficient to cover her needs. Philippe Gerbaud said that their decision to buy an electric vehicle was not only to "preserve the environment" but also driven by the particularly low running costs the Nissan LEAF offers: less than 2€ per 100 km in France compared with about €7 for a similarly-equipped diesel family car.
"We've been spending 400€ per month at the petrol station. From now, we should only pay 60€ per month in electricity. The extra cost of the vehicle will be recovered in one year after which the monthly fuel saving can be used as a contribution towards the monthly finance repayments" explains Mr. Gerbaud.
The price of the 100% electric Nissan LEAF is €30,990 in France, after incentives and including the batteries which benefits from a five-year/100,000 km warranty. The French government's incentive for electric vehicles amounts to 5,000 euros. In order to make electric motoring even more accessible to individual customers in France, the Nissan LEAF is also available through a private finance scheme
Eric Couriant from Nissan Couriant in Aix-en-Provence applied to become a certified EV dealer because he believes "Nissan is making history by bringing sustainable mobility to the mass market and we wanted to be part of it". "Most customers testing the Nissan LEAF are very positively surprised by the performance, the comfort, the roominess and the range of the Nissan LEAF." Mr. Couriant added.
Nissan Couriant in Aix-en-Provence is one of the 14 certified EV dealers (along with Chambourcy, Clermont-Ferrand, Grenoble, Marseille, Maurepas, Montpellier, Nantes, Nice, Nîmes, Paris 12ème , Perpignan, Strasbourg, Toulouse) to sell the Nissan LEAF in France. This list is expected to grow rapidly in the near future.
Deliveries of Nissan LEAF have already begun in the UK, the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland and Portugal. Order books have also opened in Switzerland, Spain, Belgium and Norway with customers in those markets expected to start receiving their cars shortly.
Nissan LEAF recently received a top 5-star safety rating from the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), making it one of the safest cars on the road in Europe.
Nissan LEAF is powered by a compact electric motor in the front of the car, which drives the front wheels. The AC motor develops 80 kW of power and 280 Nm of torque, enough for a maximum speed of 145 km/h. The electric motor is powered by a laminated lithium-ion battery with an output of more than 90 kW. Matching the advanced electric drive technology is the Nissan LEAF's advanced on-board IT and telematics systems called CARWINGS. The system provides continuous information to the driver via a 7'' color touch screen, including battery capacity and range, and provides the location of the nearest charging station.
The car has a range between charges of 175 km as tested over the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) making it a practical proposition for many urban drivers. Recharging from empty to 100% can be done in eight hours with a normal charger and in about 30 minutes from empty to 80% using a quick charger under normal conditions.
