Three years after Nissan introduced electric vehicle and battery manufacturing to Europe, the 50,000th European-built Nissan LEAF has rolled off the production line.
Manufactured in Nissan’s flagship plant in Sunderland, UK, it is the first time a European carmaker has built 50,000 electric vehicles and the batteries which power them – further confirmation of Nissan’s innovation and leadership in electric vehicle technology.
The silver, Tekna grade Nissan LEAF rolled off the production line last week and is destined for a customer in France. European-built Nissan LEAFs are currently exported to 23 global markets covering Western Europe and other destinations as diverse as Argentina, Iceland, Israel and Taiwan.
Nissan LEAF and battery manufacturing was launched in the UK in 2013 by Prime Minister David Cameron and supports over 2,000 jobs at Nissan and in its UK suppliers. And 2016 is shaping up to be a landmark year for LEAF, with the extended-range 250km LEAF introduced to Europe and the announcement that Nissan’s future generation batteries are confirmed for production in Sunderland – a further £26.5m investment in the plant.
Five years ago, the Nissan LEAF was the first mass-market electric vehicle to go on sale and it remains the best-selling EV of all time with almost 220,000 vehicles sold worldwide. With a new 250km range Nissan LEAF 30 kWh on sale across Europe, Nissan is pioneering affordable, all-electric technology for the mass-market.
Having introduced electric vehicle production to Europe with LEAF in 2013, Nissan launched a second EV into Europe in 2014 when the e-NV200 van went into production in the Nissan’s Barcelona plant in Spain – powered by the same European-built advanced lithium-ion batteries as the LEAF.
Today, Nissan is the first manufacturer to look beyond the car and into the future with its pioneering Nissan-developed technologies – turning the LEAF into a fuel station for your house or workplace and a mobile power unit that makes Nissan customers money.
Launched in Europe earlier this year, the new Nissan LEAF 30kWh goes 25 percent further than the previous model, delivering up to 250km of driving range on a single charge, beating all of its competitors within the segment.
