The first Nissan Leaf fully-electric vehicle (EV) was launched in Japan and the USA in December 2010 and since then, Nissan has delivered over half a million units in close to 60 countries around the globe.
Celebrating this milestone, Nissan USA spoke to one of the first owners who purchase the Nissan Leaf back in December 2010. He is one of over 118,000 owners of the first-generation Nissan Leaf models sold in the US alone.
Shannon Monroe from Bellevue, Washington, had his first electric vehicle (EV) experience in his neighbour’s garage-project when he was a child. When the order books for the Nissan Leaf opened, Monroe stayed up till midnight to place his order.
Sharing the first few years of ownership of the Nissan Leaf, Monroe also “electrified” his parents after sending his then-newborn son home in the Nissan Leaf.
“As soon as my parents realised we were that committed to it, they went out and bought a Nissan Leaf as well. That was another great moment that we made another transition for someone else,” he said.
“It is a great feeling to know that, for ten years I haven’t had to purchase gasoline, I haven’t contributed to those emissions,” said Christin Monroe, wife of Shannon.
Mrs. Monroe drives the Nissan Leaf to work, send her kids to school as well as taekwondo practice – it’s the household’s daily car. Apart from scheduled maintenance, Monroe said there haven’t been any unplanned trips to the workshop. The family has travelled over 200,000 kilometres since starting their ownership journey in Florida, with a short stay in California and now in Washington.
Although it works out to an average of just 20,000 kilometres of travel a year for the Monroes, the range of the first-generation Nissan Leaf was only 120 kilometres per full charge (US EPA cycle) with its relatively small 24 kWh battery. The Monroes certainly know how to plan their trips and adopt a habit of charging whenever possible.
Globally launched in 2018, the second-generation Nissan Leaf offers up to 311 kilometres of range (NEDC cycle) per charge in a larger 40 kWh battery. Power output from the motor has also increased tremendously, from 109 hp / 254 Nm to 150 hp / 320 Nm. The new Nissan Leaf can even be driven with just the accelerator pedal!
Monroe definitely has huge praises for the Nissan Leaf and its EV technology, claiming that “there is no going back, once you had a Nissan EV”. Good news for the household then, as the latest Nissan Ariya in a more spacious crossover size has at least 400 kilometres of emission-free range.
Edaran Tan Chong Motor has been offering both generations of the Nissan Leaf in Malaysia, and the latest Leaf can be had with a subscription plan rather than outright purchasing it.
The plan offers the usage of the Nissan Leaf at RM 2,500 per month for a three-year contract and it includes all scheduled maintenance, a wall box charger and first year’s insurance coverage.
