Nissan Leaf Wins Award Prior To Official Sales

The Nissan Leaf, the world’s first affordable mass-produced zero emission vehicle, has won its first award, a full eight months ahead of sales. The Leaf picked up the coveted Special Award at the 2010 Auto Express New Car Awards.

Given in recognition of the best new innovation in the motor industry, the Auto Express judges were unanimous in choosing the Leaf, which will be the first mainstream all-electric family vehicle on sale in the UK when it hits showrooms next March.

Auto Express said: “Having tried the Leaf we know that it’s rather good. The best news of all though, is that Nissan plans to build the groundbreaking model right here in Britain.”

The Nissan Leaf is a compact, zero-emission five-passenger family car that comes fully equipped with features such as air conditioning, satellite navigation, a parking camera, a quick charge socket and innovative smart-phone connectivity. Customers in the UK can place their order for a Leaf from 1 September at www.nissan.co.uk/leaf with deliveries starting from 1 March 2011. Across Europe, 12,000 customers have signed up to receive regular updates about Leaf’s introduction and in the US and Japan, over 23,000 orders have been placed since order books opened in April.

Paul Willcox, Managing Director at Nissan Motor (GB) Limited said: “We are delighted to receive what we hope will be the first of many awards for the Leaf. Nissan is leading the industry by being the first manufacturer to introduce an affordable zero emission car and we believe that drivers and passengers alike will be as impressed as the Auto Express team are with Leaf.

“The Nissan Leaf will appeal on many levels; it's a completely 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. That's a powerful combination,” he continued.

Credits: wilswong