3:09 am, March 21, 2011
CUSTOMERS are getting their hands on their all-electric Nissan Leafs today, it has been announced.
Smooth Radio DJ Mark Goodier and electronics engineer Richard Todd took delivery of their Nissan Leafs today at Glyn Hopkin Nissan in Waltham Abbey, Hertfordshire.
Goodier is no stranger to electric cars, though – he’s been driving electric cars for the last decade.
‘The great thing about electric cars is that the fuel distribution is already in place. We all have mains electricity at home. We have it at work and councils are already working on how to install thousands of charging points at the roadside. You can see why EVs make such sense, particularly in towns and cities.’
Silicon chip designer Richard Todd from St Albans was the first customer in the UK to place his order for a Nissan Leaf when the order books opened last September. He’s now the proud owner of a black Leaf with optional solar panel.
‘As an engineer I have always wanted an electric car – I’ve just had to wait for the battery technology to arrive. Hybrids are good but the driving experience of an all electric vehicle is way beyond this. Of course the lack of emissions in town is a big positive too,’ Todd said.
Paul Willcox, managing director at Nissan Motor GB, was on hand at the hand-overs. ‘The Nissan Leaf is pioneering the electric car revolution in the UK,’ said Willcox. ‘We first unveiled the car in August 2009 and we’ve been building up to this moment for over 18 months.
‘Today’s deliveries mark the start of the introduction of the Nissan Leaf to customers across the country as our network of EV dealers will be delivering Leafs to their pioneering customers later this week,’ Willcox continued.
Nissan plans to build the Leaf in the UK from 2013, and has announced that Leaf dealers can charge the car’s battery from zero to 80 per cent capacity in under 30 minutes. British Gas was also recently announced as the preferred supplier of domestic charging points for the Nissan Leaf.
