Nissan has now officially made half a million Leaf EVs



Nissan has delivered its 500,000th unit of the Leaf EV to its new owner in Norway, celebrating World EV Day (9th September) in the most awesome way possible.

The milestone was achieved at the company’s plant in Sunderland, England, almost a decade after the model first went on sale. The British plant has produced more than 135,000 units of the Leaf since the model began production at the site in 2013.

Collectively, Nissan says that the 500,000 Leaf EVs on the road have driven more than 14.8 billion clean air kilometres since 2010, and helped prevent more than 2.4 billion kilograms of CO2 emissions.

The 500,000th unit is actually new owner Maria Jansen’s second Leaf EV. “My husband and I chose to buy a Nissan Leaf back in 2018, and we loved it,” she said. “We’re very excited to become the proud owners of the 500,000th Nissan LEAF. This car really meets our needs with extended range and enhanced technologies.”

The second-generation Nissan Leaf was launched in Malaysia last year, nearly two years after its global introduction. Locally, we only get the 40 kWh battery pack option which promises a range of 270 km range on the WLTP scale. In other markets though, there is also a 62 kWh Leaf e+ variant which delivers 384 km of range, along with a bit more poke.

On our variant, the electric motor on the front axle delivers 150 hp and 320 Nm of torque, capable of pushing the Leaf from a standstill to 100 km/h in a respectable 7.9 seconds, onward to a limited top speed of 155 km/h.

Other notable features on the fully-electric hatchback include the e-Pedal, which automatically slows down the car using regenerative braking when the driver lifts off from the accelerator, allowing the Leaf to be driven normally with just one single accelerator pedal.

Aside from the Leaf, Nissan’s next big electric push will be with the Ariya SUV, slated to go on sale in Japan first in the middle of 2021. The fully-electric SUV is offered in four different variants consisting of two battery options – 63 kWh and 87 kWh – and rear-wheel or all-wheel drive powertrains.

Range is rated at 600 km for the larger battery, while the smaller one manages 450 km of pure electric range.

The Nissan Leaf is priced at RM181,263 on the road, without insurance, and inclusive of the sales tax exemptions and extra savings. For the latest updated price list of all Nissan models in Malaysia, click here.