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| Nissan Leaf - all-electric |
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Nissan will open order books today for its new Leaf electric car, in Portugal and the Republic of Ireland.
Along with the UK, these three countries are first in line for what Nissan calls the world's first affordable mass-produced electric vehicle.
UK pre-orders will commence on September 1, while deliveries begin in Portugal in January, Ireland in February and the UK in March.
"Today's announcement brings zero-emissions motoring one step closer to reality in Europe," said Simon Thomas, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Nissan International SA.
"Nissan Leaf will appeal on many levels; it's a completely zero-emission electric car with all of the financial and environmental benefits that will bring, but it is also a practical family size car and fun to drive."
Since March, nearly 12,000 customers in Europe have signed up for regular updates on the car's introduction.
And in the US and Japan pre-orders have exceeded 23,000 units since online reservations began in April.
To make a reservation, customers in the initial launch markets simply need to go to their local Nissan consumer website and place their order.
The process requires a fully-refundable deposit of £257.
These 'early adopters' will also be given an opportunity to test-drive a Leaf thoroughly by December, at which point they will need to formally confirm their order.
The price of Nissan's electric car after government incentives is £23,990 in the UK including the battery. |
