Nissan Leaf, GE partner on electric-car grid research

Nissan and General Electric are partnering to research ways for electric vehicles such as Nissan's Leaf to connect with homes and electric grids, the companies said Friday.

The research could lead to a way to use the Leaf's lithium-ion battery as a backup for a home power outage, said Bob Sump, vice president of Nissan's Farmington Hills engineering center.

In addition, the partners are exploring ways to incorporate the Leaf into GE's Smart Home concept, which uses its Brillion technology to allow appliances to "talk" with a system that monitors home energy use. Smart appliances can use energy when it's least expensive and least taxing on the local electrical grid.

GE makes its own electric-vehicle charger, called the WattStation, but that isn't part of the partnership, said Mark Little, GE's global research director.

Nissan has so far sold more than 15,000 Leaf pure electrics worldwide and imported and sold more than 7,000 in seven U.S. markets. By the end of 2012, Nissan plans to build the car in Tennessee and sell it nationwide.

To compare, General Motors had sold 3,498 Chevrolet Volt extended-range electrics through August, although GM built 7,520 Volts in Detroit-Hamtramck in that period.

GM has earmarked 6,000 of the 16,000 Volts it plans to build this year for dealer demos and overseas sales. It will deliver Volts nationwide by year's end.

The Leaf runs on battery power, while the Volt uses battery power for the first 35 miles and then switches to a gas-powered generator.

Toyota Auris Hybrid

Using the same drivetrain as its bigger brother, the Auris Hybrid achieves a similarly impressive economy to record 74mpg on the combined cycle for its most fuel-sipping version. Translated into a CO2 figure, that means an output of just 89g/km, which means no annual road tax, no London congestion charge and a company car tax bracket of just 10 per cent. Those would be fantastic figures for a city car, but the Auris is a size rival for the VW Golf and Ford Focus.

The reason for the terrific economy is, of course, the assistance given to the 1.8-litre petrol engine by the nickel metal hydride batteries hidden behind the rear seats. These are charged by the car itself, either when the driver comes off the gas or hits the brakes.

They can also be topped up by the engine itself, but in urban driving there’s little need. The car will even run on pure battery power, achieving a maximum of 1.2 miles of silent running at speeds under 30mph.

Nissan Leaf for SA launch by 2013

It's official; Nissan is to launch its Leaf battery car in South Africa "as soon as conditions allow", according to Nissan SA managing director Mike Whitfield.

He was speaking at the Johannesburg International Motor Show, where the Leaf is on display.

But what does that mean?

Since its world launch in late 2010, the Leaf has been introduced to countries which have implemented the necessary charging infrastructure and government incentives to support electric vehicles.

To date these have included Japan, the US and a growing number of European markets, and more than 12 000 have already been sold.

Following talks with the SA government, Nissan now plans to release the Leaf for sale in South Africa, possibly within the next two years, depending on market readiness.

Whitfield said: "We intend to bring the Leaf to South Africa in 2013, subject to confirmation of government policy on charging infrastructure and customer incentives.

"There is more work to do before we can confirm its launch in South Africa but this underline both Nissan's, and this country's, commitment to delivering a more sustainable future for road transport."

The Leaf's lithium-ion battery gives it a range of as much as 160km on a charge and a top speed of 145 km/h - although not at the same time, of course - and Nissan claims it's competitive with conventional vehicles in terms of safety, spaciousness and handling.

It's currently built only at a Nissan plant Oppama, Japan, but will be assembled at Smyrna in Tennessee from late 2012 and the Sunderland plant in the United Kingdom by early 2013.

Canada’s First Nissan Leaf Takes Root

The first all-electric Nissan Leaf has been delivered to its new owner in Canada. Ricardo Borba of Ottawa received the keys to his black Nissan Leaf SL in a special event in his hometown, according to the auto manufacturer.

Borba was the first Canadian to purchase the 2011 Nissan Leaf, which Nissan says is the first all-electric car to be brought to the mass market. The company will continue to deliver the 2011 Leafs throughout Canada in the next few weeks. In late October, the company will start taking reservations for the 2012 model. To be eligible to reserve the car, consumers will need to live near one of 27 electric vehicle-certified dealerships in Canada and be registered with the company.

Nissan estimates as many as 600 Leafs will be driving on Canadian roads by the end of 2012. The Leaf is a mid-size hatch-back with seating for five. One full charge allows the car up to 160 kilometres distance of driving. A full charge can be reached in seven hours with a 240-volt home charging dock. Using a quick charger, it is said, means 80 percent of the battery can be charged in under half an hour.

The Leaf is powered by a lithium-ion battery that generates 107 horsepower and 207 lb-ft of torque. Because the car lacks a typical engine, Nissan had to add sounds to warn pedestrians of its presence.